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u ~The Canadian Champion, Tuesday, April 25, 2006 - A Playland offers fun for families of ail incomes By Tim Whitnel SPECIAL TO THE CHAMPION reid Loranger knows the pain of secing birilida' alfter hirthday go by ssithlit a traditiotial kids' part> or even a presenit She ,v anis to make sure it doesn't happen to another youngsîer. Gro\ving up poor lU a large famiiy in a small Newfoundiand iown, the 37-vear-old Milton resident is doing wxliai she can 10 help bring some birthdav cheer t0 children who corne from meagre â nancial. means. The owner of the recently'-opened Amazing Adventures Playiand is making an effort to regularly help oui needy families by allowing some children 10 use the fun appa- ratus ai no charge ai the 4325 Harvester Rd. (Unit 5) faciity Once a monib, Loranger selects a family thai norrnaliy couldn'î afford to use her serv- ices and gîves a child wvith an upcoming birtbday free use of the business for a couple asgieawy0onormrebdrniof hours. A monîbly pass, ai $30 per chiid, is flc ivnaamily one ar moneîhlrni low-income fml neamnh Beies ihose gîveaways, Loranger saîd she aiso occasionally subsîdizes families thai can'i afford the entire rosi of using the play- land for a parîy 1i came from the small iown of St. George's, Nfld. 1 grew up the middle of 10 kids. We were very low income... We were lucky if we got Jelu-O on our birthday i was îreaîed the samne as everybody else in the family In the earlier years we didn'î gel a preseni per se but got lu go to the corner store witb a dollar. 1i neyer had a birîhday pary~ or a cake untîl I was 18. i carne 10 Ontario when 1 was 17." Loranger said she only got 10 go 10 other kids' birîbdav parties a couple of limes. k Whenever we were inx-iîed 10 a Part' we didn'î go because we couldn't afford 10 give a gifi. When people realized thai, we weren'î invited any'more.- She doesn'î wanî other kids to have simi- lar sad memonies. "Event îhough we ofien fi the (free) spot quite quiek>' wvit a low-income family if someone says uts 100 expensive sometimes l'Il iniervene and we'll subsidize a pariy" she PL.AY 11ME: Brenda Loranger offers pienty of fun for youngsiers at her Amazing Adventures Playland. BRI RKN PCA OTECAPO said, noîing mosi enquiries come from sin- gle parents, low-income earners, single- income families or ibose on social assis- tance. "When >'ou're on a fixed income you have grorery and reni money. A parent shouldn't have to make a decision between food and a Party- Loranger said she recenîly accepîed a $50 deposit as full paymenî for a parîy that would normally cosi $236%Nwith tax. The parties are generally for kids aged four to nine year; who play' on various appa- ratus. Youîhs up 10 age 12 are caîered 10 as ihere's a video games area wiith a PlayStation, GameCube and Xbox. The bîrîhday parties are for up 10 15 chil- dren and include use of the apparatus and a parîy room plus drinks for the kirk and adulis. The packages vaiy in prîce from $199 10 $299 dependîng on the day selecîed and whether ail or some of hot food, cake, 'boot' bags or bailoons are desired. Apparatus include a 17-foot play' struc- ture, îwo 16-foot swirl slîdes, a triple gang slîde, a nine-foot trolley ride and a themed jet. Theres a bouncy casîle and a 50-foot inflatable obstacle course. Also available is an arcade area witb air hockey and foosball, an enciosed area wviih mini baîîery-operaîed Harley Davidson motorcycles and an enclosed toddier section wiih a vanieiy of play equipment. Parents are responsibie for monitoring Corporate leaders invited to hear from speaker one of Canada's leading authorities on research and innovation ai the Halton Region-McMaster University Learning Series event Tbursday. The session - firsi in a tbree-parî series designed for corporate leaders in Halion - xviii take place at the Oakviiie Club starting ai 11:30 a.m. and xviii feature guesi speaker Mamdoub Shoukri, vice-president of research and interna tional affaîrs ai MeMaster University Shoukri xviii speak about compeîîng and winning tbrougb uni- versiiy-tndustry parînerships. The rosi is $55 per person and includes lunch. For more information or 10 regîsier, rail (905) 825-6000, ext. 7514. The second pari of the series xviii be held May 18 and xviii include Marcel Mongeons discussion of inteilectuai. property. Then, Mo Eihesîawî xviii îaik about MeMasiers Manufactuning Research lnsîiîuîe june 7. The Oakville Club is locaîed ai 56 'Water St., Oakville. their chiidren, she saîd. Loranger pre-xiously owned a similar business for a couple of years cailed Bounre and Play in wesî Mississauga. She sold il in 2005 to refocus on her family and decide whaî she wanîed 10 îarkle nexi but decided 10 gel back int the business of play Sînce she opened lasi October shte saîd business ix booming with 'thousanis" of kids coming through ber doors. One out-of-îown visiior wroîe The Champion tu say bow împressed she was by Loranger's magnanîmous attitude. .it is people like Brenda who make the world a mucb brîter place 10 live," saîd Etobîcoke resîdent Patricia Hayes, referning 10 a receni winier trip il) the plavland 10 pick Up ber grandson. "Wiib so rnurb crme, headlînes always being so negative, ihai ibis person or that person bas been killed; cbildren abdurîed, companies einbezzied and a shorage of doc- tors, as weii as our bealîb system declinîng, i îhink once tn a while it is nice 10 bear ibat people actuallv do help one anoîber raîber ihan to turn their backs on each other.' For more information about the business or iow-încome consideration, caIl (905) lis lime gjou show gjour mothler 1Wut ijou carc. Menu BUS iothr'sDail 4a herou[(Variefr of raid ruts, cheeses, grilled vegetables; and ailier appeizers) andle Ic ler cîijoîj an exquisile itîcîs à... - Cannelloni & Penne wrih Vodka Sauce - - Roaît Bee< wf h Pan Juices - sen'ed with seasonol vegetobles and roasted poboîoes; -Grille Breaît of Chicen.- j toppecl with a mushroom saure $3q"OO B A N Q U E T A LLS 10WMixed Seafaod - ppr 3090 Steeles Ave. West, Milton, Ountario L9T 2V3 ceCem Cee Tape wu-leere Tel: 905-878-6527 or 416-657-4449 Fax: 905*878* 1647 -Cfe e Da-Yi~ 'une'cl 14,N 900OO ,: palo tfI 1