Fairy Wonderland Park, founded in 2019 by Alison Ennenga and Bethany Christianson, is a way to honor and commemorate the lives of their daughters, Ava Christianson and Ellery Ennenga who died and to remember other children gone too soon.

Since 2020, the non-profit has raised about $500,000 while installing Phase One of the park in the St. Croix Bluffs neighborhood. On June 24, Ennenga and Christianson addressed the Prescott City Council to ask for help to install a parking lot and bathroom for the park. Christianson commented on the tremendous amount of work it has taken to get this far with the project.

“It is a lot of work. We put a lot of effort into it because we want this park to be amazing and we want it to be something that lasts,” she said.

“Our goal is for it to be muchm much bigger than it is,” she shared, adding that they’ve only installed Phase 1, Dream Catcher Cove, but plan to install part of the next phase in September.

Christianson said the largest expense to date is due to not only the equipment but the poured-in-place rubber surface floor. They believe the the poured-in-place rubber is important because it allows anyone who has any type of mobility issue to use the park, including children and adults.

“We just really wanted to make it truly accessible for everyone,” Christianson said.

They want everyone to have access to the equipment to play.

“Even though it’s so expensive, it’s something that’s really important to us,” she added.

Ennenga shared, “Essentially this is a labor of love for our children, and kind of their legacy to go on but what we see is it’s bringing people to our community.”

She said the park is attracting visitors to Prescott, thereby boosting tourism in the city; last September the council discussed the possibility of allocating funds from the Great River Subdivision Park to the St. Croix Bluffs Park.

“We’re just hoping that possibly we could move up having our parking lot and possibly a bathroom,” Ennenga said.

She clarified that for safety reasons, it would be important to have a parking lot there and stated that it would be “a great addition to our park.”

 “Any help that we could get would be greatly appreciated,” she said.

Alderperson Dar Hintz said she has visited the park.

“It’s an awesome, really safe, lovely environment for kids to be able to play in,” Hintz said.

Alderperson Adam Granquist noted that his young children play at the park multiple times a week.

“They absolutely love it. The whole construction of it has been fantastic already,” he said.

Ennenga and Christianson were nominated for the Power of 100 in Hastings to receive roughly $25,000 for the park and the next phase of Fairy Wonderland Park will be geared toward younger children. 

“It’s a great area and a great place for kids to use their imagination. If you have any extra funds that you want to throw our way, we would be beyond grateful,” Ennenga said. “We could use anything.”

Christianson said Phase 2 is only half of the park, so there is still progress to be made.

“So, when we say we’re looking for any kind of money, it’s because we still have a ways to go.”

A familiar face addressed the council in support of Fairy Wonderland Park; former Ward 5 Alderperson Pat Knox reminded the council of its decision Sept. 18, 2023, in which the council agreed on a concept plan for St. Croix Bluffs that centered around the location of the park.

 “The motion was then put into it to have that in roughly 2027 for funding and things along those lines,” he said.

Knox brought to the council’s attention that Ennenga and Christianson have raised over half a million dollars.

“If at all possible, I’d like you to consider moving that up in the process,” he said.

He hopes the council will prioritize Fairy Wonderland Park before other current projects when it does come time in the next year for budgeting. He said Fairy Wonderland Park has raised more money than other projects and has done the majority of work on its own.

Alderperson Maureen Otwell spoke to Ennenga and Christianson: “I just really want to thank you. You have done a terrific job and I know it comes from your hearts and so I want you to know how much I appreciate it and I think everybody in the council does.”

“And our kids would love it,” added Christianson.