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Children’s Playhouse 14th Birthday: Five Days of Free Admission, Special Treats Nov. 8-12

The High Country’s only children’s museum, The Children’s Playhouse will celebrate its fourteenth birthday with a five day celebration running from Tuesday, November 8th through Saturday, November 12th. The Playhouse 14th Birthday Bash will feature free admission, membership sale, special activities all week, and free pizza and cake on Saturday. The Children’s Playhouse is located at 400 Tracy Circle, Boone.

“If you’ve never visited The Children’s Playhouse, this is your no-excuses chance to check it out,” says Playhouse co-founder and current executive director Kathy Parham. “Thanks to our generous sponsors, admission will be free all five days and we will be adding an extra free month to your membership when you join this wee.” A Playhouse membership gives a whole family unlimited admission and other discounts at The Playhouse for a whole year, plus half price admission to over 150 other children’s museums around the country. A membership costs $125 but because The Playhouse is a 501c.3 nonprofit, $75 of the membership fee is tax-deductible.

The Playhouse Birthday Bash is presented by the Orthodontists and Pediatric Dentists Drs. Mayhew, Scheffler, Hardaway, & Conn.  Additional “Free Play Days” are sponsored by Greenway Medical Associates (Marshall C. Murrey M.D., Anita Henderson M.D., and Karen Williams), and the Mast General Store.  Bluebird Exchange is providing prizes for daily drawings.

The museum will host special free activities all week. Highlights include “Wacky Raceway” and “Face Painting” on Tuesday, “Preschool Creative Movement” on Wednesday morning. On Thursday, November 10th, the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation will bring “Creepy Critters” including owls, snakes, and hissing cockroaches in the morning and kids can make their own Galaxy Slime in the afternoon. On Friday, “Kids Can Cook” in the morning and “Sand Art” in the afternoon.  For a full listing of all the special activities, please see www.goplayhouse.org.

Saturday is going to be super fun” says Parham, “We’ll end the Bash with a blast—a while-supplies-last party featuring Harris-Teeter pizza and Stickboy birthday cake.”
Members are encouraged to bring in new guests and when they do will be entered into a prize drawing just for members.  There will also be other fun goodies throughout the week such as free toothbrushes from OP Smiles.com.
Playhouse fans will have opportunities to give back as well.  “Like any birthday kid, we love presents!” jokes Parham.  “When someone makes a donation of money or an item from our wish list during the Bash, they will be entered in a drawing for a Bluebird Exchange gift basket valued at over $100. As a nonprofit, The Children’s Playhouse counts on donations.  This past year, The  Playhouse gave away over 74 free memberships last fiscal year to low-income families and social service agencies. Admission and membership fees cover less than 30% of the museum’s total budget. During the Birthday Bash, the museum will post a wish list of needed items ranging from glue sticks to money at http://goplayhouse.org/give/index.html.

About The Children’s Playhouse

A nonprofit children’s museum founded in 2002, The Children’s Playhouse provides an enriching play environment for children from birth to age eight while at the same time offering parents and caregivers friendly support in the important job of raising children. It is located at 400 Tracy Circle near downtown Boone.  Daily admission is $6 per person. A one year Playhouse Passport Membership for $125 includes admission to The Playhouse and half-price admission to more than 150 children’s museums nationwide. Scholarship memberships are available for families that meet income guidelines. For more information, call 828-263-0011, like it on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/Childrens.Playhouse), or visit the website, www.goplayhouse.org.

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Joseph Washburn dresses as a pirate at a past birthday celebration for the Children’s Playhouse.