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RIDGELY – A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Saturday, November 22, to officially open Dream City Park, the newest addition to Martin Sutton Park in Ridgely. The installation is designed for children ages 2–5 and built to be fully inclusive for children with special needs, including those who use mobility devices such as wheelchairs.
The idea for Dream City Park began with Patrice Flamer, a Ridgely native and founder and CEO of Spirit and Mind, Inc. Ridgely is nicknamed Dream City, which influenced the name of the new installation. Legally blind herself, Flamer can relate to the challenges of navigating traditional playground equipment and wanted to create a space that younger children and children with disabilities could use safely. “I always said that I wanted to give back,” she said, explaining that she knew as early as middle school that she wanted to support her hometown.
Spirit and Mind is a Ridgely-based nonprofit organization offering tutoring for students in kindergarten through 12th grade, a mentoring program for teenage girls on the Eastern Shore, resource references for homeless youth, and other community outreach initiatives. Dream City Park is their first playground installation.
To start, Spirit and Mind received a $99,000 grant from the state of Maryland in July 2024, secured through the work of grant writer Lakia Pierce. After over a year of coordinating the project, “It’s exciting to see the youth on the playground equipment,” Flamer said, “it feels good to see the youth on equipment, seeing their parents come along, seeing the community come together.”
Several partners contributed to building Dream City. George Belvins of All Recreation, the company that built the playground, said the project would not have been possible without outside support. He credited the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office, who assisted with fencing the playground while the flooring cured, Ridgely Public Works for their assistance, the Commissioners for their support, and the many individuals who donated funds. “I know it's been a lot of work, especially for Patrice, but as far as playgrounds go, very smooth, good experience, for sure,” Belvins said.
Owen Bailey of the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy was involved in the effort, along with local sponsors including the Ridgely Lions Club, Burke & Herbert Bank, Ridgely Pharmacy, Ridgely Coins and Jewellery, Ridgely Historical Society, and Dawn Chase. The project also received community donations during Ridgely’s annual Strawberry Festival in May.
Ridgely’s Town Commissioners – Brad Sears, Chad Leister, and John Hurley – attended the ribbon-cutting. Flamer said they had been supportive from the beginning, especially when it came to providing additional money for the soft, ocean-themed playground flooring, “Our Ridgely Commissioners had our back,” she said. Sears said “there was a need and a desire” for the project, and its completion “demonstrates a commitment.”
Dream City Park includes several inclusive features. “It's designed for younger children, but also, for children with differing abilities, it has the wheelchair accessibility,” Belvins said. He added that inclusive elements are built into their design approach: “What's good about the inclusive things? It's not just for one group. If you have differing abilities, or if you don't, it's for everybody…at All Recreation, we represent Burke playgrounds, and they do a great job with having all these different types of pieces that fit within inclusivity. And so it almost becomes a default part of the design.” Features of Dream City include a wheelchair rocker that gives children in wheelchairs the experience of a swing, a ramp wide enough for wheelchairs, and educational activity signs such as the sign language alphabet.
Flamer said this marks only the first phase of the project. Spirit and Mind hopes to secure additional funding to add more features in future phases, including a mini basketball court for young children.
The ribbon-cutting included a blessing of the playground by Bishop Dane A. Coleman of Flamer’s home church, Greater New Hope Church in Preston, as Flamer’s faith is a big contributor to her work. “I thank God first for this vision and dream,” Flamer said.
