9 minute read
Business Spotlight: Activate Games
ACTIVATE GAMES 2510 Hurstbourne Gem Ln. Louisville, KY 502-829-7002 activate.games
Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photography Provided
Breakout Games, a private escape room experience with 37 locations nationwide, came to Louisville in 2015. Ever since then, the company’s leaders have been looking for more activities that allow friends, family and colleagues to engage one another for a casual night of fun or intense competition. They found that next-level concept in Activate Games, a high-tech gaming experience that tests players’ physical and mental agility in a variety of ways.
The 10,000-square-foot facility, located two miles from Breakout Games, is three times the size of Breakout and is the first location in the United States. Activate Games, which has 10 micro-arenas, invites teams to choose from hundreds of combinations of games and difficulty levels, each lasting one to three minutes.
“It’s not a video game where you’re using a controller,” says Co-owner Bryce Anderson. “Instead, you’re inside the game, actively dodging the lasers, shooting the basketball, climbing the wall. It’s a great way to get exercise while having a lot of fun.”
Players wear an electronic wristband that tracks scores as they earn points, leveling up with team members. As players compete in and complete the challenges in the various micro-arenas, points are awarded to their player profiles, which carry over from experience to experience. Those points can be traded in for prizes.
“We have families who travel 45 minutes every other week to come play,” Anderson says.
Activate, which is designed for players 10 and older, offers games that are physically demanding and some that are more mental, including trivia. The common denominator is simply scoring points and having fun, all while working together as a team.
The Activate staff opened the doors to the facility in December of 2019, and business was booming when COVID-19 hit.
“Each week was better than the last as we had youth groups, corporate groups, friends and families, and even whole schools coming in,” says Anderson, noting that the business has also matched up various games to fulfill different physical education requirements for the county and state. Though Louisville was hit hard economically this summer, the city is rebounding and hundreds of people now play each week.
“We feel like, especially during this time, doing something with people is really important but it has to be done in a safe way,” says Anderson, noting that his facility provides a safe indoor activity since each room only contains a single group.
Anderson has heard a recurring message from customers. They admit to some initial hesitation about coming in, and say their anxiety vanished once they saw how safe the environment is.
“Over the last year, vacations, events and celebrations have gotten cancelled, and people are missing fun in their lives,” Anderson says. “To have this local option where people can escape what is the new normal for a bit is a real gift, and we are happy to provide that break.”
Automate Your Home Today!
the technology experts
www.hpts.tv
(866) 558-0709
FREE QUOTE!
DISH SATELLITE INTERNET SMART HOME SERVICES AUTOMATION AUDIO
From oil changes to engine replacements, and everything in between, we’ve got your auto repair and maintenance needs covered.
SAME DAY SERVICE FOR MOST REPAIRS.
We offer:
• AC Repair • Brakes & Pads Repair • Check Engine Light • Engine Repair • Precision Alignment • Suspension Repair • Timing Belt Repair • Tires & Balancing • Transmission Repair
12920 Fenwick Center Drive (502) 244-6533 | adrclouisville.com
NEW TO LOUISVILLE
Ages Infant to 5 Years Old
NEW TO LOUISVILLE Grow to Love Learning
Ages Infant to 5 Years Old
SPECIALIZING IN PERFORMING ARTS AND ACADEMICS
Building Kidz is committed to developing the “whole child”. Our unique and proven curriculum intelligently integrates Performing Arts to enhance Academic excellence, all within a newly built facility that offers six classrooms and a performing arts space. Our classrooms extend to our natural playground where children are invited to explore and discover the outside world. Come partner with us to develop the highest levels of confidence, SPECIALIZING IN PERFORMING ARTS AND ACADEMICS Building Kidz is committed to developing the “whole child”. Our unique and proven curriculum intelligently integrates Performing commitment and character in your child. Arts to enhance Academic excellence, all within a newly built facility that offers six classrooms and a performing arts space. Our classrooms extend to our natural playground where children are invited to explore and discover the outside world. Come partner with us to develop the highest levels of confidence, 502-245-4100 commitment and character in your child. 2415 Bush Ridge Dr. 502-245-4100BuildingKidzSchool.com/louisville
APRIL GARDENING BLISS
PRUNING & PREPPING
Writer / Carrie Petty
April bring us 30 days of pure gardening heaven, you know why? Because you are in the honeymoon phase, with dreams of all the good things to come, and let’s face it — we are all glad winter is almost over. Brutal! But you must proceed with a bit of gardener’s cautions, our last hard frost date in the area is always around May 15. I plant like a seasoned gambler, keeping lots of old sheets on standby for frost protection.
If there is one thing you will do in the garden this month is work your tail off! Get outside and clean up that winter debris all over the ground and begin to uncover the little green spouts that are underneath all the months of brown. There are many good things to be found in the garden and even some spring blooms. Bulbs will begin to emerge and the buds on most blooming trees and bushes will begin to swell. I fertilize absolutely everything in the month of April. You can get a jump-start on all the spring chores this month, giving you more time to enjoy May and June.
Pruning trees and bushes is a perfect first garden chore. Just be sure not to prune early flowering varieties. Like, Fortyish, Azalea, Rhododendron, Lilac, Dogwood trees or Redbud trees until AFTER they bloom. They all bloom on “old wood” or last season’s growth. You do not want to cut off your blooms.
I love the Fiskars line of pruning tools. Sharp and clean blades are a must. And make sure when you make a cut, to make it 0.25 inches above a “bud union” (That place where you see a swell in the branch) and always cut at an angle to allow rainwater to run off the freshly cut opening, so not to cause rot and disease. Then I add a little 10-10-10 granular fertilizer to the base of the tree and make sure there is no mulch touching the base of the trunk. Pruning does a couple of things. It helps to encourage new growth. It cuts out any dead or broken branches, and, most importantly, it maintains the shape of the plant. It is a wonderful way to get up close and personal with your trees and bushes, to really observe closely the branching order of things and make a few adjustments. Just like people, we all need a little pruning!
For us, May 15 is ‘go time.’ That is the date when you can safely plant your annuals in the ground or sow seeds directly into the soil without the fear of a hard frost. So think of it this way, April is for prepping and May is for planting. But like I said, I am a bit of a rebel, and I start much earlier, and if a threat presents itself, I just cover up what I have put down.
Flowers bring extra beauty and happiness into our world, and the best kind of flowering plant is the kind that keeps coming back year after year. I have an entire garden bed dedicated to my favorite — The Perennial. Growing Perennials are one of the easiest ways to garden.
I have more than 40 varieties of perennials in my yard, I just love them because they give me a great ‘cutting’ selection all growing season long in which to make beautiful floral arrangements. Because for me, in the summer months, entertaining and gardening life go hand in hand.
DIVIDING PERENNIALS IS SIMPLE, REALLY:
Take your garden spade and dig around the plant and push the spade down under the root ball, then lift up. Keep repeating until you can lift the entire plant out of the ground. Then, take a dividing tool, or two garden pitch forks and work your way through the center of the plant, making new little plant starts. Keep greens and root connected in large chunks of divisions and you will have great success. Now, plant. Just like any new nursery purchase. Dig your hole and plant your new division, be sure to keep the top of the root ball flush with the top of your newly dug hole. Press soil in around the new plant and water in well. You are good to go!
It is all part of helping you, “Grow a Beautiful Life!”
APRIL GARDEN CHORES
Go for a walk in the woods to view the spring flowers blooming. Fill your containers with pansies before annuals arrive in May. Give your home a deep clean. Fill your water features after a good cleaning. Weed, edge, mulch…repeat. Get hoses out of storage and turn on outside spigots. Toss out any old tools, hoses and gardening pots. Not worth the effort. Make new plants by dividing big clumps of perennials. Feed lawns, weed application and mow. Continue sowing seeds indoors. Divide early blooming bulbs and replant. Feed roses. Spray fruit trees. Wash garden furniture. Power wash and stain deck. Be prepared for hard freezes and frost with extra bed sheets for coverage. Enjoy the month and begin entertaining outdoors!
UofL Health – Urgent Care Plus is now open at Medical Center Northeast
For life’s non-threatening ailments and injuries, from flu symptom treatment to stitches, UofL Health – Urgent Care Plus is now right around the corner. With no appointment necessary and less waiting time you can get in, get out and get on with your life. Common urgent care services for adults and children over two include: n Allergies and asthma n Allergy shots n Bronchitis n Burns n Cuts and lacerations n Colds/Flu n Ear infections n Eye illnesses n Fractures (non-compound) n Foreign body removal n Injections n Lab work n Migraines/headaches n Minor injuries and illnesses n Nausea/vomiting n Physicals n Sports physicals n Employment physicals n DOT physicals n Pink eye and strep n Sprains/strains n Stomach issues n Urinary tract and yeast infections n Work injury n Wound care
We accept most commercial insurances, including Medicare and Medicaid.
2401 Terra Crossing Boulevard Suite 100 Louisville, KY 40245 502-588-0746
Hours:
Monday - Saturday, 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. Sunday, 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Telehealth is also available
