GODFREY - LaVista Park sits on a beautiful 93-acre tract of land located in Godfrey on West Delmar Ave. It's home to many hiking/bike trails, several picnic tables, and a challenging 18-hole disc golf course. A new addition to the park was unveiled Saturday (July 9th) when a new sculpture dubbed the "Prairie Portal" was honored.
The outdoor sculpture was designed by local artist Merrilyn Shoemaker. Tom Cundiff is a woodworker who constructed the sculpture. They both attended the ribbon cutting on Saturday.
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The idea for the sculpture came about a couple of years ago and has taken longer than expected to make its debut. It was all volunteers who helped get the project off the ground.
The sculpture is 12 feet tall and 7 feet wide and sits on a brand new poured concrete pad near the pollination area. It can clearly be seen from the main path that runs through the park.
The event was supposed to have children's activities as well as refreshments for guests, however, the rainy, overcast morning canceled those plans. Those events are still planned on being re-scheduled at a later date to have a more community-centric grand opening.
Regardless, the new sculpture still stands and Christine Favilla says that she is super excited about the educational piece.
"Art can be an incredible tool for educating the public with little or no written words," Favilla said. "I think most people will recognize the form, but we will be adding signs about the importance of prairie and pollinators later this year."
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