Why have a picnic by the beach when you can have a picnic by the waterslides instead?
On Saturday and Sunday, Blue River Productions will host the first Princess & Pirate Waterslide Picnic at Balloon Fiesta Park.
From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, families can pay $10 per person to ride 11 inflatable waterslides and attractions ranging from 19 feet to over 52 feet tall, including the world’s tallest inflatable waterslide.
All proceeds from the Princess & Pirate Waterslide Picnic will go to the Rio Grande Down Syndrome Network.
Dean Strober, the owner of Blue River Productions, said the RGDSN cause is dear to him and his wife, Lena, because his 2-year-old daughter, Aleeya, was diagnosed with Down Syndrome.
“That organization has proven incredibly helpful in terms of helping build and maintain a community of people whose lives are impacted by Down Syndrome,” Strober said. “That’s where the idea came from and why we decided to do it.”
On top of the fundraiser, Strober said Blue River Productions also wanted to create something big that was appropriate and fun for kids of all ages.
“Our approach is ‘if you’re going to do it, go big’ — that ‘go big or go home’ philosophy,” he said.
Strober’s 5-year-old daughter, Zoelle, came up with the idea of a princess and pirate festival, he said.
“She said, ‘how about a princess and pirate festival’ ... So we just kind of trusted our 5-year-old (and) that she would know what other kids would want,” Strober said.
Other activities offered at the festival include interactive soccer and football fields provided by i9 Sports, a large play area for toddlers provided by Gymboree and princess and pirate themed crafts with the help of the Girl Scouts. There will also be a wide variety of vendors for shopping.
The tentative goal of the event is to raise $10,000 for the RGDSN and spread the word about what they do, he said. If this year’s event is successful, Strober said he hopes to make it an annual fundraising event to benefit the network as well as provide a fun event for families in Albuquerque.
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Skylar Griego is the culture editor at the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @TDLBooks.
