The kids stay home, the adults get to Bounce
New event is garnering a lot of attention and is expected to be a big hit
Looking for a break before taking on the dreaded winter weather?
Jon Visser of RavenMedia thinks he has just the thing, and the response he’s received for an event that he created tells him he’s on the right track.
“I generally know when something is really catching on,” said Visser. “This took off to the point where I was getting a message every 10 seconds with likes, comments and shares.”
Attractions include bouncy castles, paintball, a zipline that spans a soccer field and live entertainment. The first band announced is the East River Rats, a group of Celtic rockers.
The event is called The Bounce, and it’s being held Saturday, Nov. 24, at the William M. Sobey Indoor Sports Complex in Stellarton.
It’s a natural extension of the family nights that happen there every Saturday, but it’s adults only, with alcohol being served.
“They have their family fun nights with inflatables,” said Visser. “And every now and then we’d hear from the parents that they wished there was something like this for adults.
“So we thought, ‘well, what if we get a bar involved?’”
Visser first posted information about the event Nov. 5, and within 24 hours it had received 60,000 Facebook views.
“We’ve now crossed 100,000 views on the post and we’re getting contact from other provinces about busloads of people coming,” he said.
Safety, of course is always a concern, said Visser, but provisions are being made to reduce risks.”
“We’ve got a huge staff on that day,” says facility manager Gary Matheson. “And we do feel that something like this would be good for Pictou County.”
Staffing for Family Nights at the complex is usually 10 to 15 people to oversee the crowd, which normally runs a little over 100. As interest increases more people can be added to the roster for the evening.
Visser is considering selling advance tickets and is confident The Bounce won’t be a one-time event.
“Before we even open the doors, we know that there’s some longevity here,” he said. “We’re pretty confident that it’s going to continue.”