On December 4, several community partners unveiled the culmination of a two-year restoration project that refurbished and protected key components of the Lions Narnia Braille Trail of Darrell’s Dream Boundless Playground at Warriors’ Path State Park.
In 2023 the Kiwanis Club of Kingsport awarded Friends of Warriors’ Path State Park a $10,000 grant to rebuild one of the wardrobes on the Lions Narnia™ Braille Trail. Over the last two years, more community partners stepped in to protect Darrell’s Dream by replacing the other wardrobe.
Students from Kingsport’s Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) volunteered construction and hands-on labor for both of the Lions Narnia™ Trail’s Wardrobes. Thanks to TCAT and students for your partnership!
Additional grants from the Kingsport Lions Club and Engage Kingsport enabled the group to restore several of the life-size interactive exhibits among the eight sensory stations, including Tumnus Cave, the Beaver House, and Mr. Tumnus. Tele-Optics and Lions Club Members also helped upgrade all the wiring and repeaters for each sign’s audio.
On Saturday, November 8, Jennifer Salyer of Barge Design Solutions Inc. presented Friends of Warriors’ Path State Park a $10,000 grant check. This award from Barge Community Fund is to be used for Darrell’s Dream Boundless Playground. Mary Steadman, Boundless Playground Chair, applied for a $5,000 grant with Barge, and Barge liked the project so much they decided to double the grant!
Friends of Warriors’ appreciates the great support from Barge Design Solutions, Inc., not only with this grant and working at the Fall Day of Caring but also for supporting our October 2025 annual golf tournament.
Fun fact – Jennifer was the design/landscape architect who originally worked on the Boundless Playground 2005-2007.
Pictured above: Representative John Crawford; Jennifer Salyer, Barge Design; Mary Steadman, Boundless Playground Chair; Reba Barber, Friends of Warriors’ Board Chair.
Hans Kinner, a representative of the Kiwanis Northeast Tennessee Children’s Charitable Foundation, and Donna Sade, president of the Kiwanis Club of Kingsport, awarded $3,450 to Reba Barber and Mary Steadman with the Friends of Warriors Path State Park at the July 18 Kiwanis lunch meeting. The funds will be used for various repairs to Darrell’s Dream Boundless Playground that were identified recently by a third-party inspection. We appreciate the Kiwanis Club of Kingsport for being a great supporter of Warriors’ Path and especially the Boundless Playground!
There has been a lot of repair, replacement, and maintenance to several artistic items at the Boundless Playground in the last few months! Here are pictures of just a few of those items.
