Little West Seattleites and their parents showed up en masse for the official unveiling of the Admiral District’s Lafayette Elementary playground on Sept. 6 – just in time for school to start the next day.

As soon as construction tape strung around the play spot was officially cut, a legion of kids rushed the new toys, their imaginations running wild as they conquered the equipment.

Please click the photo above for a slideshow.

The playground is the result of a several month fundraiser organized by parents and teachers known as the Play It Forward Project that raised enough funds to match a city grant.

QFC provided a free barbeque and Play It Forward organizers thanked them along with Safeway, ING Direct, the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods and a sea of volunteers for helping to bring the new playground to fruition.

Caribbean-inspired musicians The Toucans provided live music and Seattle Sounders defender Zach Scott provided inspiration and autographs at the event.

“We wanted to build a playground that was accessible to all, that allows sitting and gathering areas for the community and offered choices for safe and fun play while challenging imaginations,” Play It Forward organizer Deborah Hazlegrove said at the event.

“In other words, we wanted to build a dream playground,” she said.

According to an unofficial count of brimming kid smiles, Lafayette’s new playground qualifies as a dream come true.