Starting on Tuesday, Nov. 10, The Children’s Playhouse will offer five days of free admission and special treats in celebration of its 13th birthday. The festivities will also include discounts on membership, special activities and free pizza and cake on Saturday, Nov. 14.
The Children’s Playhouse is a non-profit children’s museum that was founded in 2002. It is the only children’s museum in all of the High Country, and it offers kids, ranging from birth to 8 years of age, an opportunity to participate in an enriching play environment, while also providing parents and caregivers the support system they need to raise a child.
“We want to support parents while offering kids an enriching educational environment,” Kathy Parham, co-founder and executive director of The Playhouse said. “Kids love the chance to get in here and experience all of these things that some parents can’t set up at home, and they really do gain a lot from these activities.”
The Playhouse has an art room that changes art activities with each new week, and any kid who is admitted to the Playhouse is able to participate in these things. Along with this, it also has a “romp and stomp room” where there is a rock-climbing wall and an area to “shake the sillies out” on rainy days, as Parham said.
Outside, when the sun is shining and weather is provided, there are a lot of activities and structures that allow kids to interact with nature. There is an actually functioning water pump in the yard, along with a bucket and pulley system that kids can use to move around logs.
“We get out of town visitors all the time that want to experience these things we have to offer,” Parham said. “We have one family from Winston Salem, where there is so much to do, come up here every so often because the family enjoys The Playhouse more than what they have there.”
Some of the special activities that will be offered during the five days of free admission include, but are not limited to:
- Tuesday afternoon: an Old Fashioned Cider Pressing
- Wednesday morning: Animal Action Music with Miss Laura and Kids
- Thursday morning: an exposition of “Creepy Critters” by the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, which will include owls, snakes and hissing cockroaches
- Friday: kids can explore a “Musical Instrument Petting Zoo” in the morning and make sand art in the afternoon
Along with these special events and opportunities for kids to participate in unique fun, there will also be face painting offered throughout the week, prize drawings and much more!
Parham said in a recent release that passing up this opportunity to experience the fun and excitement of the children’s museum would be missing out on a wonderful time in the community.
“Thanks to our generous sponsors,” she said, “admission will be free all five days, and we will be offering a $5 off a one-year family membership and $10 off a Passport membership.”
Originally, the prices for admission and membership are as follows:
- Daily admission is $5.
- A Family Membership, which gives the entire family unlimited admission for a whole year, along with other discounts at The Playhouse, is $100.
- A Passport Membership, which offers the same things as the Family Membership, plus half-off admission to over 150 other children’s museums around the country, is $125.
“Every year we get new families with children who have never experienced what we have to offer,” Parham said. “This way they can experience it and then decide what’s best for their family.”
The opportunity to experience the museum for free, while also being offered a discount on memberships, is a wonderful offer that people should consider taking. Children love The Playhouse with all of the aspects it has to provide, such as playing with other children while also participating in events and things they otherwise wouldn’t be able to.
“We are all about supporting families spending time together,” Parham said. “This is a place where you can get more connected with your kids, rather than some over-the-top place.
“We are part of the community, and a lot of members come several times a week. They get to know each other, make friends and form support groups for one another.”
The Birthday Bash that will be taking place from Tuesday until next Saturday is allowing children, and their parents, to experience this kind of fun and educational environment for free. The entire five days is going to be full of exciting opportunities and events, and it will end with the ultimate celebration.
“Saturday is going to be super fun,” Parham said previously. “We are going to end the Bash with a blast — a while-supplies-last party featuring Earth Fare pizza and Stickboy birthday cake.”
Some other sponsors of the 13th Anniversary Birthday Bash include: the Orthodontists and Dentists Drs. Mayhew, Scheffler, Hardaway and Conn, Greenway Medical Associates, Harmony Center for Women’s Health and Vitality, Kiwanis Club of Boone, Mast General Store, Ray’s Weather and Todd’s Calendar.
The Children’s Playhouse is located 400 Tracy Circle near downtown Boone.
For more information about The Playhouse or the 13th Anniversary, call 828-263-0011, visit their Facebook page or visit their website.
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