Adventure awaits: Levi's Adventure Trail opens after a five-year effort

After more than five years of fundraising, love, hard work and dedication, Levi’s Adventure Trail opened to the public Sunday afternoon.

Despite misty weather, more than 100 attended the grand opening that provided free hot dogs, chips and drinks as well as the chance to be some of the first to enjoy the Americans with Disabilities-compliant playground.

Located across U.S. 61 from Melaina’s Magical Playland in Cape County Park North, Levi’s Adventure Trail in Cape County Park South memorializes the life of Levi Collom, 3, of Benton, Missouri, who died unexpectedly in 2012.

With help from Cape County Park superintendent Bryan Sander, Levi’s mother, Ellie Collom, designed the combination of rock-climbing structures and aquatic attractions to give the playground an atmosphere resembling that of a campground at Current River — one of Levi’s favorite places.

“Originally, I just wanted to put everything in the playground that Levi liked,” Levi’s mother, Ellie Collom said. “So I knew it had to be water, sand and outdoorsy.”

Matthew Snider, 5, pumps water into an empty bubble container during the grand opening Sunday of Levi's Adventure Trail at Cape County Park South in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

Green, blue and maroon rubber mulch cushions the interactive play area, which features unique equipment including a zip line, a hand-cranked water pump with a basin and a sand-pit area with running water.

At the center of Levi’s Adventure Trail stands a three-story-tall playset with two slides and a clubhouse. The playground also features improvements of a larger parking lot and a new Biba system — a smartphone app integrated into the playground to guide parents and children through activities across the playground.

“I like it, and I’d do it again,” Levi’s father, Glenn Collom said. “But I’d rather have my boy back.”

“There’s nothing you can really trade for that,” Ellie added. “But it’s definitely something that we feel closer to him here. We come up here all the time, and this is definitely a place I’d rather visit than his graveyard.”

The push to build the playground began with Levi’s Children’s Charity, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit association started by Levi’s grandmother, Viney Mosley, shortly after his death.

Kyra Rivers, 9, left, plays in sand with Jalah Clark, 9, center, during the grand opening Sunday of Levi's Adventure Trail at Cape County Park South in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

With her daughter handling the playground’s design, Mosley led fundraisers with help from Southeast Missouri State University service sorority Gamma Sigma Sigma’s Alpha Psi chapter.

Levi’s Children’s Charity received donations from the Cape Girardeau Noon Optimist Club and the Cape West Rotary in addition to contributions from Nip Kelley Equipment, Erb Equipment, Fronabarger Concreters Inc.; the Dewitt Co.; Red Letter Communications; Element 74; Innovative Financial Solutions and Hi-Tech Communications Inc., which aided in the playground’s construction.

While the playground officially has opened to the public, Levi’s Children’s Charity will continue its fundraising in the hopes of adding more landscaping and a musical garden.

bmatthews@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3652