SOMETHING SPECIAL: Unique to New Jersey, this ‘Field of Dreams’ includes a wheelchair accessible playground and a host of amenities geared for children and adults with special needs. (Supplied Photo)
A state-of-the-art recreation complex especially for special-needs individuals is opening in Toms River, and a virtual tour of the Toms River Field of Dreams is scheduled for Thursday, May 12 at 7 p.m. as part of the Ocean County Library’s 2022 Autism Resources Fair.
Field of Dreams, located on a 3-acre tract at Bey Lea Park, is the only recreational site of its kind in New Jersey and serves to benefit Ocean and Monmouth County communities. Its founder, Christian Kane, will host the video tour, created by students with autism at Toms River High School East.
The complex includes an all-inclusive, wheelchair-accessible playground; baseball field; mini-golf course; basketball, bocce and shuffleboard courts; rehabilitative fitness stations; temperature-controlled pavilion; complimentary snack shack and more.
“The TRFOD will provide engaging inter-active areas, events for music and art appreciation, organized leagues for special needs baseball and basketball, as well as quiet spaces for observation, reflection, and reorganizing,” according to its website. “Our hope is to increase awareness of our special needs community and provide an inclusive environment in which all can play and interact together.”
It said Bey Lea Park was selected for the site because of its central location within Toms River and accessibility to the Garden State Parkway.
The Field of Dreams is scheduled for a grand opening on Saturday, April 30, with festivities beginning at noon. Gov. Phil Murphy will be in attendance.
To register for the virtual tour, visit theoceancountylibrary.org/events. Registrants will receive links by email. A recording of the program will be available for viewing at a later date on OCL’s YouTube channel. —E.E.
