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THE MESA TRIBUNE | DECEMBER 5, 2021
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Kids will jump for joy at Chandler bounce park BY KEN SAIN GetOut Staff Writer
S
ome entrepreneurs saw an opportunity during the pandemic. Laurence Hallier said before the pandemic he and his partner did a number of Instagram pop-up museums at malls. It was successful, with some 300,000 people checking it out. However, he said they agreed that wouldn’t work after COVID-19. They wanted something big. Very big. They settled on the Funbox, the world’s biggest outdoor bounce park and chose Chandler to be one of the �irst cities to get to try it out. It is built in the west parking lot of the Chandler Fashion Center. The park consists of three in�latable structures, one that is 24,200 square feet. Combined with the other two that brings the total to 25,000. “We saw that things have shifted, the masks are going to stick around, so that’s when we decided to design something unique and different,” Hallier said.
Since there were no large gatherings during the pandemic, Hallier and his partner used that time to design and build two giant in�latable bounce parks that they plan to travel to different locations. The �irst opened in Woodland Hills, California, about seven weeks ago. The other opened in Chandler three weeks ago. Hallier said the original plan was for the bounce park to stay in Chandler through January, but Hallier said if demand remains strong, they are open to keeping it here into February. It’s scheduled to go to Sacramento after its Chandler run. “It was really fun,” said 7-year-old Maya Battle. “My favorite part was the climbing stuff, and the little cute animal thingys.” Brigdon Schaub, 11, agreed. “It’s really fun,” he said. He said his favorite part was the maze. Based on the full parking lot, the attraction has been popular. “We did opening weekend for a $1 a ticket, and we had 5,000 people come out,” Hallier
said. “We donated the money to a foster charity.” Hallier said that’s something they do every time they open a new attraction. His partner, 27-year-old Antonio Nieves was part of the foster system. “We kind of focus on the older foster kids, because they’re the ones that kind of get lost, 16plus,” Hallier said. Hallier said Nieves is the creative force behind the Over 5,000 people turned out for opening day and the bounce park, and that he operators donated the money to charity. (David Minton/ helped design and engineer Staff Photographer) it. He said the parks were built in China and because their bounce park. It only takes about �ive they are so large, they had to be built minutes to �ill it with air, but it takes about outdoors. an hour to de�late. “The challenge was no one had ever built The Funbox bounce park is open Fridays anything like this,” Hallier said. “I think the through Sundays and it costs $26 to play largest one ever built before us was 8,000 inside for two hours. There is no age limit. square feet.” That would be less than a third the size of ��� BOUNCE PARK ���� 25
There are dozens of breeds from tiny cats to Maine Coons that can weigh in at over 25 pounds. A cat show is composed of a number of separate, concurrently running, individual shows held in the various judging rings throughout the hall. Each ring is presided over by a different judge who has spent years training for the role, one they often repeat at shows around the country and the world. Every cat is judged according to a written standard for its breed (with the exception of the Household Pet Class, for which there is no written standard). The standard is part blueprint because it describes the ideal specimen for the breed and part constitution because it can be revised by the members of the breed council. “A breed standard is precise enough to allow judges to evaluate cats accurately, and �lexible enough to leave room for differences
in interpretation between judges of keen eye and good intention,” according to the national Cat Fanciers Association. A spectator guide is available to help visitors understand the different breeds’ distinctive characteristics. There were scores of categories and subclasses such as Blue Point Female Birman, Balinese-Javanese and seven varieties of Persian cats. For the most part, though, members largely own purebred felines. And some have raised dozens of litters of cats since the 1990s. Visitors also will be able to peruse yearbooks of prior years’ national and world champion cats. “One of the requirements of getting into the judging program is your commitment
Feline lovers will �lock to annual cat show next weekend BY SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF
A
fter a pandemic-driven hiatus last year, scores of cats and their masters – well, at least owners – will be descending next weekend on the Mesa Convention Center for Arizona’s largest cat show. Presented by the Phoenix Cat Fanciers, the show runs 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 11 and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 12 at Mesa Convention Center Building C, 263 N. Center St. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 seniors/military, $8 children 3-12. People can �ind a $1-off coupon at phxfeline.com. In addition, All About Animals Rescue will offer cats for adoption and dozens of vendors selling cat-related products also will be on hand. The show is a popular gathering for professional exhibitors, vendors and cat-loving spectators – and for good reason.
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