Since she first heard about Urban Air coming to Somerset Crossing in Gainesville, Jessi Lightfoot, mother of two 10-year-olds and chair of the activities committee for Buckland Mills Elementary School, had been eagerly waiting for it to open.
In April, Urban Air Gainesville invited Lightfoot, along with a few other mothers and community influencers, to a sneak peek at the indoor park.
“We really don’t have anything like this, family-friendly here on this side of the county,” Lightfoot said. “It’s a place to get together. It’s really one-of-a-kind for this area.”
Lightfoot was amazed by what she saw and booked a birthday party for her twins, Wyatt and Grace, at the park.
In May, Urban Air Adventure Park officially opened. The 49,000-square-foot center offers activities from various high-jumping trampolines to indoor climbing walls, bumper cars that flip upside down and “ninja” obstacle courses.
Additional fun activities include a laser tag arena and a zipline where kids can soar over the park.
The park has become a popular place for birthday parties, PTO spirit nights and end-of- the-school-year celebrations.
The Tayyab family of Bristow were also eager to visit the park and arrived on the first day it opened. The children sped immediately to the high-rise zip line.
“We felt like we were flying and didn't want to come down,” said Isa Tayyab, 10.
Urban Air server, Lani, pours drinks for girl scouts (clock-wise) Charlotte School, Tatiana Chinn and Kennedy Shivers.
LUKE CHRISTOPHER
Subir Singh of Arlington, co-owner of Urban Air’s Gainesville and Woodbridge locations, also owns several Learning Experience locations, including one in Bristow.
“We are [already] in the daycare business, so from that it became a natural evolution into trying to do something else for the community,” Singh said. “Then we thought, ‘Alright, the next one’s fun.’”
When it came to choosing to open his first Urban Air franchises, Singh was drawn to CEO and co-founder Michael Browning's vision for the adventure park: “happy kids + strong kids = good kids.”
Singh and his team have tried to embody those ideals by providing opportunities not only for fun, but for skills building, team building and even STEM projects.
He chose to locate his second adventure park in Gainesville because the area has many young families.
He hired Jalissa Henderson as his marketing director. She managed SkyZone Trampoline Park in Manassas for many years.
Henderson has been working at both Prince William Urban Air locations to connect with local families and schools, partner with off-duty police officers and host adult and teen nights. She hopes to partner with more parents and organizations, including daycares and sports teams.
Building a community for families and friends to meet and spend time together is her passion, and she appreciates that Urban Air caters to people of all ages.
Urban Air is an appropriate place for teens and tweens to hang out and be loud and energetic without getting into trouble. But it is also a place where parents can take their smaller children to play in the kids’ jungle-gym while they sit and chat nearby.
Of course, parents and children can also take part in many activities together.
“Urban Air isn’t just a trampoline park, but a place where people of all ages can enjoy – from toddlers to grandmas,” Henderson said. “Since safety is our number one goal, families [can worry less] and focus on enjoyable memories that last a lifetime.”
Heather Stietzel of Bristow has a B.A. in journalism. She is the director of membership sales for the Prince William Chamber of Commerce.
Mother Approved, Kid Tested
BY STACY SHAW
In early June, Amanada Scholl and Erin Blankenship of Bristow took Junior Girl Scout Troop 90115 to Urban Air Gainesville. Scholl said they wanted to do something special, and with the excitement around the opening of the park, it was an obvious choice.
The fourth-grade girls wasted little time before heading out to explore. Most of them scurried off to the floor-level ninja course, where they swung on ropes and skipped across landing pads overlooking a ball crawl. Workers oversaw the course to make sure the children did not crash into or trample each other.
Having their fill, they quickly made their escape, running off to the next activities – bumper cars and then high-jumping trampolines. Afterward, they gathered for a game of laser tag, donning their equipment and adopting cool code names, including “Alpha,” “Cyber”and “Skye.”
While not everyone ventured up to the Sky Rider Zipline, Nora Blankenship and Shay Baldwin were not deterred – even if they were a bit terrified, they confessed. However, after making it safely across, they realized they had nothing to be afraid of.
Quickly, they returned to the podium. This time, they got a running start, put more energy into the dismount and zipped quickly from one platform to another, taking it all in with smiles.
With so much to do, the girls scarcely returned to the large, brightly lit party room. They had pizza and chicken nuggets, but still requested treats from the cafe, such as, polar ice drinks and popcorn.
Parents scoped out the healthy and allergy-conscious options. (Adult beverages are also available.)
When 7 p.m. rolled around, it seemed all the girls were begging their parents to allow them to stay longer. By 7:30 p.m., moms were still coaxing their children out the door.
Everyone was eager to return, and many moms had already purchased their summer passes.
Originally published by HAYMARKET GAINESVILLE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE, an affiliate of INSIDENOVA. All rights reserved. See more from HGLM.
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