Kids Together Playground in Cary celebrates 25 years of inclusive play
story by ELIZABETH BRIGNAC
photos courtesy of KIDS TOGETHER PLAYGROUND
When he was three, my son’s best friend was a boy named Jonathan, who had one of the most infectious laughs I had ever heard and an outdoor speaking voice that regularly hit 100 decibels.
“Hi, Charlie’s Mom!” he would bellow every morning outside their preschool, hastening to the classroom to reunite with his buddy.
Jonathan had spina bifida. He used braces to walk, and he could not climb much or run at all, but he needed the same level of stimulation and energy expenditure as any other child his age. Outside of preschool, it was hard to find anywhere both he and Charlie could tear around together— except Cary’s Kids Together Playground (KTP).
We were already fans of KTP before Charlie became friends with Jonathan. Our kids were never bored there because it offered many different play options, and with its shade trees and water features, it was one of the only playgrounds where we didn’t roast every summer. But I began to truly appreciate KTP during Charlie’s preschool years because it was the only playground where Jonathan could play—and Charlie loved it just as much as Jonathan did.
Inclusive Play
“There’s a difference between an accessible playground and an inclusive playground,” says Amanda Rhode, a member of the KTP board of directors. “An accessible playground puts out a bunch of accessible options. An inclusive playground brings everyone in and gives them a lot of options.” KTP takes a universal design approach to outdoor play. Limited neither to kids with disabilities nor to kids without them, the playground offers exciting possibilities for everyone.
Consider KTP’s wheelchair-accessible We-Go-Swing, for example. Kids in wheelchairs can roll onto the swing, while other kids can stand up or sit in the seat. Participants of any age can rock the play structure back and forth using the handles. It’s a popular spot, welcoming several participants at a time (the better to get a good rocking motion going), and it is just as much fun for a kid in a wheelchair as for any other child.
The playground’s active play area also shows how KTP invites activity at all ability levels. Its main structure features ladders and slides, steering wheels and music makers, but a discerning observer will recognize that it offers a ramp as well as ladders to access it. Instead of a plastic slope, the structure’s slide is made from metal rollers, which are painted and located in the shade so it doesn’t get too hot. The rollers also benefit children with cochlear implants, eliminating static electricity caused by plastic slides that can disrupt their functioning. The large play area offers plenty of space for active play, as well as necessary space for kids who use braces or wheelchairs to get on board.
The abundance of space is a hallmark of KTP. Many kids, especially anxious or neurodiverse ones, become overwhelmed by crowds. KTP provides big structures and spacious play areas so kids aren’t piled on top of each other. “There are more opportunities for people who need a break,” Rhode says.
How It All Began
Marla Dorrel, for whom the park that houses KTP is named, was a driving force behind the playground’s development. She is a minor celebrity among local parents. “Marla Dorrel is here?” said one woman with whom I was talking at a recent KTP event. As a mom who is also a pediatric nurse, this woman has been referring clients to KTP for years and was eager to meet Dorrel. “She also had a personal experience with her daughter when [the daughter] was very young and in a full-body cast,” Dorrel explained after speaking to the woman. “She was still able to use one of the swings.”
“I don’t know everything that happens there,” she adds, “but I hear just enough to let me know the playground is working the way it should.”
KTP board president Marla Dorrel (second from left) poses with Bruce Brown, Robin Moore and Nilda Cosco. Moore and Cosco have supported the playground through their work at the Natural Learning Initiative.
Two 7-year-old girls, Kristin Holcombe and Helen Rittelmeyer, inspired KTP’s development in the 1990s. “They wanted a place that was safe and comfortable for their younger sisters, who had disabilities, to play,” Dorrel says. “They were already raising funds for this playground. They had organized kids, they made crafts, and they organized a kid’s bazaar. They were amazing.” Dorrel was looking for service work to do at the time. “So, we joined forces,” she explains. “I formed the nonprofit organization and ran it behind the scenes, and they were the upfront spokespersons for the project. They were wonderful.”Dorrel approached Bruce Brown, who was then a member of the Town of Cary Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and was enthusiastic about developing an inclusive playground in Cary. “The town was on board,” Dorrel says, “but we needed to raise some money to show that there was real support for this special playground.” She established Kids Together, Inc. nonprofit in 1994 and worked with the kids to raise funds. In 2000, the playground finally became a reality.
Building Something Special
The town hired Robin Moore, who now runs the Natural Learning Initiative at North Carolina State University, and Robb Harrison of Little & Little Landscape Architects in Raleigh to lead the KTP design team. “I swear, he was a 5-year-old at heart,” Dorrel says of Harrison. “He had just that sense of playfulness.” They worked with the play equipment suppliers to design structures that could be “a fort, a rocket ship— a special thing that gets your imagination going,” she says.
The winding paths were deliberately designed to inspire exploration. “Pathway networks can be exploratory,” Moore explains, “curvy pathways where a child never knows what’s around the next corner.”
The playground was also created to incorporate the natural environment. “Trees were chosen, not just because of the shade they provide, but [because of] their interesting bark or how they looked throughout the year. If you start looking around, you’ll see lots of different kinds of bark,” Dorrel says.
Artists have made special contributions to the playground as well. Cary Visual Art provided benches with special designs, including the oracle benches at the front of the playground. The misting garden incorporates animal sculptures. Most importantly, KATAL—the dragon mascot—overlooks the playground from a small hill. Her name means Kids Are Together At Last.
KTP Today
Today, the park’s nonprofit raises money to add equipment to the playground and provide free, inclusive programming. In 2018, it collaborated with the Town of Cary to incorporate a misting garden for the hot summer months; in 2023, it provided funds for the We-Go-Swing. “Part of our Kids Together philosophy is that if we see something we want to add to the playground, we go to the town and ask—but we ask with a check in our hands,” Dorrel says. Raising funds helps offset town expenses for special features and demonstrates the community’s enthusiasm for the projects. “We want to show our support and the public’s support for whatever the idea is.”
The nonprofit holds its only fundraiser—Walk, Roll and Run for Inclusive Play—every October. Businesses and families sponsor the 1-mile fun run event. People can also support the playground through donations, memberships, sponsorships, and by purchasing commemorative bricks for family members.
KTP also provides free programming for kids at the park, usually once a month, including events like Cocoa with KATAL, a fall foliage stroll and its annual birthday party, which was held on June 7 this year to celebrate the playground’s 25th anniversary.
These events are accessible to kids of all ability levels. Many of them draw kids’ attention to aspects of nature found around the park. Most importantly, Dorrel says, “It’s fun! It’s part of what makes the playground special.”