This is a question I get asked very frequently when I tell folks that I own a drama café. "Is that like a indoor play gym with both slips and rock climbing structures and trampolines?" I guess that is what happens if you introduce a totally new concept to your town.
Indoor playgrounds have existed for a little while, and there are many of them in our town of Burlington and neighbouring cities of Oakville and Hamilton. They are the places that you take your kids to when they wish to burn off their energy if it's too cold outside to go to the park, or whenever you do not need them to tear your house apart. They're the places where your children can run around through mazes, climb ropes, and slide down slides and let out all of the mad!
It was actually at an indoor park the notion of Chickadee Family Cafe was born in my mind. I had taken my then two-and-a-half year old to a favorite indoor play space within our hometown Burlington and strove to keep up with him as he raced down slides and arcade game (twitarcade.com) through mazes. I crouched into miniature corners chasing my little guy around and came out utterly exhausted (go ahead, insert jokes about just how out of shape I am here).
As soon as I arose from the play arrangements, I looked at the other parents. Many were standing about trying to keep a visual on their kids' whereabouts. Some were phoning their kids' titles, hoping that they were not stuck in a maze...'cause c'mon, we all know no adult really wants to need to climb all of the way up those structures to retrieve a crying child. Mostly, they looked bored and exhausted. Perhaps their children woke up at 6am too.
I had fun with my son, which was the major aim of going to the indoor playground, but in a place full of other moms and dads around my age with children around my son's age, there was a massive opportunity for building connection with my community that I believed was completely overlooked. But the air didn't actually lend itself to having an actual conversation.
I started to research what else was out there to get a few quality mommy -- son time which didn't require me to crawl on my hands and knees and then squeeze my buttocks through a tunnel match for a toddler. I discovered drama cafes. Play cafes are relatively new to Canada, but are around the united kingdom, Australia and the US for several years. A drama café combines the requirements of both parents and kids, fueling parents with caffeinated beverages while providing ample play space for children to explore and have fun.
Play cafes accept the community-focused way of a café and include a play area for kids. At Chickadee Family Caféwe supply that coffee shop atmosphere that you are used to sipping your latte in as well as a fun child-friendly environment full of toys and imaginative based play activities. Once the play area is closed and the kiddos are in bed, our space can quickly transform in a day meeting space for parent workshops, a couples' date night or a meeting place for mompreneurs.
While most indoor playgrounds either do not provide food or function up fast food options or vending machine snacks, a play café is a full-service café with espresso based beverages along with a hearty menu of healthy snacks and lunch items.
A play café is a bridge between an early years' centre and your local trendy café.
I expect that helped to explain the difference between an indoor park and a drama café.