Funworld September 2010

A Community Connection

How a Maine FEC helps bind a small town’s residents together through innovative programs
by Mike Bederka

Lux Beram-Butcher worked as a kitchen and bath designer in Maine for more than 10 years. Then, the economy tanked, and her once-bustling schedule began to clear out. So, like many people around the world, Beram-Butcher eyed a second career.

She started out small, renting baby equipment to families traveling to the area or to grandparents who needed something for their visiting grandkids. That venture did well so she rented out inflatables, too, a wrinkle that became equally successful. Beram-Butcher then began fielding call after call from satisfied customers asking for an indoor bounce house facility. (With Maine weather notoriously rough, outdoor inflatables have a limited window of usefulness.)

“A light went off,” the 31-year-old recalls. “We needed a place like that.”

The Playroom of Maine, located in the rural town of Warren— population of about 4,000—opened November 2009. Yet, in less than a year, the 10,000-square-foot venue has grown well past the original bounce house business model. “We have come leaps and bounds since then,” Beram- Butcher says.

The mother of three, including a set of twins, noticed a disconnect among families in her area. Parents only gathered at each other’s houses; they lacked a common meeting spot where kids—and parents—could play and socialize. “The Playroom is very intimate,” the owner notes. “Having that smaller mentality has really contributed to our success.”

The facility features two inflatables, a small arcade, climbing wall, ride-on toys, toddler soft play, and pre-school area. Beyond that, its special programs and events help to differentiate this family entertainment center (FEC) from many others out there, Beram-Butcher says.

Her work isn’t going unnoticed. She earned the Innovative in Business Award from her regional chamber of commerce in April, granted in honor of The Playroom’s proactive and innovative approach toward business challenges and for embracing change as an opportunity for growth.

Reaching Out
Obviously, an FEC should be a place for parents and their children to have fun together, but that same facility can be used to help parents connect away from their kids, Beram- Butcher believes. That philosophy spawned this year’s Valentine’s Day event.

Staffed by three adults, The Playroom served as a babysitter/ entertainer for 20 kids as their parents went out for an evening on the town. Over the course of three hours, the children created Valentine’s Day-themed arts and crafts, made cards for their folks, created balloon animals, got their faces painted, munched on pizza and healthy snacks, and ended the night by curling up in their sleeping bags and watching “Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown.” Beram-Butcher charged $12 per child and plans to make this a yearly event. “The parents were thrilled to spend time with each other,” she says. Two sets of parents even went out on a double date.

Beram-Butcher also had the region’s adults in mind when she created a women’s fitness program at The Playroom. The classes, which now range from Pilates to cardio kickboxing to aerobics, started off casually by some moms talking about wanting to shed the baby weight, she says. “The fitness program took off because there was this common interest that unified them.” Beram-Butcher describes the classes as a fun, pressure-free environment. For one ’80s-themed class, the women all dressed up in era-appropriate spandex, leggings, and headbands. Some of the women in the classes don’t even have children—they just want to be part of the group. But for those who do, the kids can play in an adjacent room while the moms work out. She charges $108 for a 12-visit pass; $60 for six visits.

Teaming up with physical and occupational therapists has turned into another growth area for Beram-Butcher. PTs and OTs find The Playroom to be the perfect location to work with children with cognitive disabilities or developmental delays, she says: “We have so many different kinds of areas that help with gross motor skills or fine motor skills.”

OTs and PTs can observe the kids in more active settings like the monkey bars or climbing wall or keep things calmer by letting them play with the train table or go to the reading corner.

For the future, Beram-Butcher sees targeting home schooling families as one more way to make inroads in the area. These families currently come in sporadically, but this fall she would like to dedicate a formal time slot for them. Some ideas she’s batting around include hosting periodic elective courses like physical education class or a presentation from a local biologist, or perhaps a home school family night out with pizza and games.

Whatever she decides on, it’s likely the crowds will follow.

“The community has really embraced us,” she says gratefully. “They have been our biggest supporters.”

Contact Contributing Editor Mike Bederka at mbederka@IAAPA.org.