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December 9, 2005
bouncy castles for grownups
the other day i passed a children's birthday party featuring that most venerable of children's birthday party attractions: the bouncy castle. i have to confess a certain fascination with the bouncy castle: as a kid, on a summer vacation in America, i was kicked out of the only one i'd ever gotten a chance to use on the grounds that i was "too small." i suppose the host thought my tiny hapa self would get crushed by some huge overweight white kid... truth be told, i'd have probably hurt myself by attempting to do a flip or maybe a headstand off the shoulders of said large white kid... what can i say; i was always a bit of a daredevil. in any case, i've often thought that grown-ups' birthday parties could use some bouncy castle action, provided that everyone leaves their drinks outside, please. you always see the grownups standing around the lawn in front of said bouncy castle looking somewhat forlorn, and jealous of their kids, who are inside having the bouncy time of their lives.
so it is with great pleasure that i present one of the more amusing finds of the week: Airquee, a British company that makes some pretty amazing inflatable buildings.
first, i introduce the "Inflatable Pub." yes, only an Englishman could come up with this one:
according to the website, it can be customized with a working bar and up to thirty customers. now there's a party!
please note the detail in this interior photo, down to the inflatable fish plaque over the inflatable fireplace. only 10 minutes with two small blowers, and you'll have the most interesting birthday party for miles!
however cool you might think the Inflatable Pub is, it's completely blown away by its predecessor, the "Inflatable Church." yes, a real church.
complete with inflatable pews, arches, and stained glass windows...
...but my favourite is the inflatable altar with its squishy cross and squishy candles. it's brilliant!
what's next? well, the company says they are exploring "next generation bouncy castles." if their site is any indication (look under "Air Play" or Air Xtreme" -- my fave is the inflatable sumo setup), finding parties where the grownups are having the bouncy time of their lives won't be a challenge. hurrah!
addendum: since posting this, i have been informed that "other blogs" covered this Inflatable Stuff "long time ago." i don't care; it's all new & exciting to me!
Posted by hadashi at December 9, 2005 5:16 PM
Comments
I watched a wedding show called - I do diaries - and they had an instant wedding (4 hours to put it all together), they got married at some ranch with the inflatable chapel. It actually has inflatable pews, candleabras, etc. It was hysterical - tackily delicious.
Posted by: Marti 
at December 11, 2005 11:03 PM
tackily delicious, indeed. that is the squishy cross in a nutshell.
Posted by: hadashi at December 14, 2005 8:36 PM
My one memory of Bouncy Green Castle of Doom & Darkness is entering one at some point in Oregon (cannot remember where... you weren't there, though), and immediately being knocked over and squashed by a hundred big white kids. It was kind of scary, but I recall my overwhelming thought was "Is this supposed to be fun? It's ugly in here. [Narpy green walls and floor not unlike OCS gym floor lunch tarps) The big white kids' feet stink." I got trapped in there and was sort of traumatized upon finally tumbling out the green flappy door back to unbouncy earth. So maybe I need to have a redeeming encounter with a pretty Bouncy Castle. I also remember never understanding the Cage of Colored Balls phenomonon. Although it might now be fun that we're not allowed in such things because we're TOO BIG! The irony!
Posted by: ernli at December 25, 2005 9:56 PM
you could get married in the Bouncy Church...
Posted by: hadashi at December 28, 2005 1:48 PM
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