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Children’s Playhouse Celebrates 13th Birthday With Week of Free Admission Nov. 10-14

Joanna Weintraub leads cider pressing 2014
Joanna Weintraub leads cider pressing 2014

The High Country’s only children’s museum, The Children’s Playhouse will celebrate its 13th birthday with a five-day celebration running from Tuesday, Nov. 10 – Saturday, Nov. 14.

The Playhouse 13th Birthday Bash will feature free admission, membership discounts, 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 offering $5 off a one-year family membership and $10 off a Passport membership.” Normally $100, a family membership gives a whole family unlimited admission and other discounts at The Playhouse for a whole year. Passport memberships, normally $125, offer the same benefits, plus half price admission to over 150 other children’s museums around the country. Because The Playhouse is a nonprofit, $75 of the membership fee is tax-deductible.

Mark Freed and some young musicians during the birthday bash 14
Mark Freed and some young musicians during the birthday bash 14

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., Sue Sweeting FNP), Harmony Center for Women’s Health and Vitality, Kiwanis Club of Boone, and the Mast General Store. Media sponsors are Ray’s Weather and Todd’s Calendar. Pizza will be provided by Earth Fare, and cake provided by Stick Boy Bread Company.

The museum will host special free activities all week. Highlights include an Old Fashioned Cider Pressing on Tuesday afternoon and Animal Action Music with Miss Laura and Kids Can Cook on Wednesday morning.

On Thursday morning, Nov. 12, the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation will bring “Creepy Critters” including owls, snakes, and hissing cockroaches. On Friday, kids will explore a “Musical Instrument Petting Zoo” in the morning and make “Sand Art” in the afternoon. There will also be face painting offered several times during the week and prize drawings on Saturday. 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 Earth Fare 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. All Bash attendees will be entered into twice daily drawings for children’s books donated by the ASU Bookstore.

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 can decorate and add their name to present coloring sheet that we’ll put up on the wall.

As a nonprofit, The Children’s Playhouse counts on donations. This past year, The Playhouse gave away over 65 free memberships last fiscal year to low-income families and social service agencies. Admission and membership fees cover less than 30% of the museums 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 $5 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.

Shannon from Grandfather Mtn shows us an owl birthday bash 2014
Shannon from Grandfather Mtn shows us an owl birthday bash 2014