FunZone Alert! Niagara Inflatables is going to have a FunZone at the Niagara Wine Festival.

Niagara Wine Festival is one of the largest festivals in Niagara. Join us at Montebello Park St. Catharines on September 16-17th and 23rd-24th for the Annual Grapeland FunZone.

Planning on attending the parades on Saturday? We have spots for children to ride along with us on the FunExpress Train.

Continue reading FunZone: Niagara Wine Festival 2017 →

FunZone Alert! Niagara Inflatables is going to have a FunZone at the Downtown Sudbury Ribfest.

If you’re heading up North to take advantage of the Labour Day Long Weekend, and you are in or around Sudbury, make sure to stop by Northern Ontario’s Largest Ribfest Festival. The festivlal runs September 1st -3rd, and we are going to have our popular Niagara Inflatables FunZone on the 2nd and 3rd!

Learn more about the Downtown Sudbury Ribfest on their event page.

Continue reading FunZone: Sudbury Ribfest 2017 →

FunZone Alert! Niagara Inflatables is going to have a FunZone at the Port Credit Buskerfest.

In Port Credit for 3 entire days Busker Fest will bring together the greatest performers from all over the world to create a whimsical fantasy land filled with family friendly entertainment, activities, local vendors, great food and community.

Continue reading FunZone: Port Credit Buskerfest 2017 →

Our blog isn’t just about birthday parties. It’s a blog about fun events, and the 2017 Solar Eclipse is definitely going to be a fun one. Our staff is looking forward to it. Here’s 5 things that may help you with viewing the 2017 Solar Eclipse in Niagara.

Continue reading 2017 Solar Eclipse in Niagara →

There’s a lot that goes into planning a child’s birthday party. From inviting guests, coordinating with parents, deciding on what to do and choosing a menu that accommodates everyone’s dietary restrictions. Now all you have to do is make sure the weather is perfect. Unfortunately, we can’t control that and neither can you.

Undoubtedly, we get asked “What happens if it rains?” often about when parents book birthday parties in advance. To answer that question all you have to do is check out our rain policy. Our rain policy is the most flexible in the industry. While bad weather is the bane to many event companies, Niagara Inflatables & Games has the perfect solutions.

Here are 5 tips to planning a possible rainy day birthday party with a bouncy castle.

Continue reading 5 Tips on planning rainy day birthday parties →

FunZone Alert! Niagara Inflatables is going to have a FunZone at the St. Catharines 2nd Annual Wingfest.

Who is the king of the wing? There’s only one way to find out. Come to the St. Catharines Wingfest hosted at Lakeside Park, Port Dalhousie.  Read on for more details.

Add Wingfest to your Facebook Calendar.

Continue reading FunZone: St. Catharines Wingfest 2017 →

FunZone Alert! Niagara Inflatables is going to have a FunZone at the St. Catharines Rotary Ribfest.

We’re back the Civic Holiday long weekend with one of St. Catharines’ largest festivals of the summer. As with any Ribfest, there will be great music, great food (even for vegetarians and vegans) and fun for the whole family. Read on for more details.

Add Ribfest to your Facebook Calendar.

Continue reading FunZone: St. Catharines Ribfest →

Cool deal alert! When you rent a bouncer, get up to $50 in upgrade credits. That’s right, get a combo bouncer for the price of a regular bouncer. It’s only good until July 30th, 2017 for events until August 30th, 2017, so call now to book. Read more for additional details or ask your sales rep.

Continue reading Free Summer Upgrades 2017 →

EDIT: Please note, this FunZone is no longer on the schedule. The Jazz Festival will continue as planned.

FunZone Alert! Niagara Inflatables is going to have a FunZone at the TD Niagara Jazz Festival in Niagara on the Lake!

Continue reading FunZone: Niagara Jazz Festival →

This week Disney Pixar’s  ‘Cars 3’ comes out in theatres June 16th, 2017 here in Canada.  11 years after the release of the first ‘Cars’ Movie back in 2006. This is the third instalment to the Cars franchise with Owen Wilson’s Lightning McQueen as the protagonist.

Continue reading Cars Bounce House Collection →

FunZone Alert! Niagara Inflatables is going to have a FunZone at the 2017 Rotary Ribfest, Niagara Falls | Sunrise B.B.Q.

Continue reading FunZone: Niagara Falls Ribfest 2017 →

Join us for the VegFest FunZone in St. Catharines! Celebrate the benefits of a plant-based lifestyle. Continue reading Niagara VegFest FunZone →

Remember how Starbucks really kicked off the #unicorn craze that’s going on right now.  We found this fun 7 unicorn food post that you can easily make at home with your kids.

No Unicorns were harmed in the making of these dishes.

Continue reading Unicorn Dishes for Kids →

This is no joke. There was a time that popcorn wasn’t allowed at movie theatres. Can you imagine that world? We sure can’t! Below the video, you can find a fresh summer popcorn recipe too!

Continue reading Super popcorn and Lemon Popcorn Recipe →

Easter is almost here and it’s starting to warm up here in Niagara. This means FunZones are now going to take place outdoors. Easter weekend we are hosting 2 FunZone in Niagara. Come join us and various organizations for their Easter Egg Hunts and a fun day with bouncy castles and other great activities for kids!

Continue reading Easter FunZone 2017 →

It’s back! Our annual Family Day FunZone is on!

This year we are supporting the Education Foundation of Niagara with our annual charity event. Based on your attendee feedback from last year we have decided to host the FunZone at not one bigger location, but host it at two great locations. One of them being the Niagara Falls Scotiabank Convention Centre!

So join Niagara Inflatables in support of the Education Foundation of Niagara on February 20th at one of our FunZone spots for lots of family friendly fun. Check out the poster below for more details and stay up to date on the event with our Facebook event pages!

Continue reading Family Day FunZone 2017 →

Bounce House Black Friday Deals

Continue reading Black Friday 2016 →

Continue reading Helping with Mental Health →

If you’ve been paying attention to the media recently, there have been numerous stories about creepy clowns terrorizing neighbourhoods around North America. Primarily in the US and some reports in Canada. CTV news reported that “In Nova Scotia… a woman in her car turned down a side street to avoid one clown, only to be surrounded by five more who stood an simply stared at her.”

Famous Youtubers such as Philip Defranco (Here’s his youtube vidoe reporting on said creepy clowns) have provided a guide on how to deal with all clowns. He recommends a 3 step approach to dealing with this situation.

Continue reading Creepy Clowns: Nope, not here! →

We were in the Niagara Wine Festival for the first weekend at Montebello Park and we had our Fun Express Train in the Pied Piper Parade. Over the summer, we took entries for children to ride along with us, and here they are! After the parade, they enjoyed a FunZone wristband to jump on the bouncy castles at the park, got tubs of cotton candy and temporary tattoos and magnets!

Continue reading Pied Piper Parade Photos →

We’re Nominated for the CHCH Business Excellence Award!

And we are so proud to be a part of it.

What are the CHCH Business Excellence Awards?

To simply put it, it is “your chance to show appreciation for your local businesses.” This is the first CHCH Business Excellence Awards and it is only for businesses in the Hamilton, Halton and Niagara Region.

What are the Categories?

There are 4 main categories: Business Services, Entertainment, Food and Drink and Shopping. Each category has sub-categories for the specific business type. Some businesses may be listed under more than one category.

How do I support my favorite business?

It’s easy to support your favorite business in the CHCH Business Excellence Award. All you have to do is visit chch.com/2016-business-excellence-awards and find the business you want to support under their category and vote.

You have until October 30th, 2016 to vote.

How do I vote for Niagara Inflatables?

We’re nominated in two categories for the CHCH Business Excellence Awards.
First for Entertainment – Children’s Entertainment as Niagara Inflatables & Games
Second for Entertainment – Indoor Play Centre as Stuffy’s Fun Station

VOTE FOR NIAGARA INFLATABLES & GAMES HERE!

VOTE FOR STUFFY’S FUN STATION HERE!

Need a good reason to vote for us?

Not only are we Niagara’s #1 Bouncy Castle and entertainment rental company, bringing you family friendly entertainment throughout the Niagara Region and Southern Ontario, we are already a multi-award winning company. Earlier this year we took home the 2016 FEO Supplier of the Year Award for Alternative Supplier and not to mention the thousands that we raise for charitable organizations. For example the over $1700 we raised for Boys and Girls Club, the donations we’ve made to Niagara Children’s Centre and giving back to children through our Stuffy’s Super Hero Campaign.

Please share the word and thank you for all of your support.

As another month comes to an end, it’s with great pleasure to announce Mary-Mariya as August’s Stuffy Super Hero. Mary-Mariya also known as M & M by her friends was nominated to be a Super Hero by Greg from the Niagara Conservatory of Music. Greg’s story informing us of M & M’s amazing talents in piano playing and singing was truly outstanding.

Not only is Mary-Mariya a talented individual, she “has been one of [the conservatory’s] biggest ambassadors” according to Greg. M&M helps with fundraising activities, selling tickets to events and volunteering.
M & M is also a selfless person. When it is her birthday, she asks her friends not for gifts, but for them to donate money to various causes. It’s these actions and her talents that make her part of Stuffy’s Super Heroes.

To celebrate M & M, we invited her to Stuffy’s Fun Station for a party for her and some of her close friends. Check out the gallery below of the first musical performance ever at Stuffy’s.

To nominate a deserving child to win one of these parties, fill out our Super Hero Nominataion form.

One of our most popular event types that we do are fundraisers and charity events. No matter the cause, fundraising is a challenge. Planning and executing a good great fundraising event takes a lot of planning and resources to make it happen. After 15 years of helping individuals, charities, not for profits, various organizations and ourselves doing countless fundraisers, we are sharing some tips on making your event a success.

1) Don’t wait until the last minute.

Too often we see organizers planning their fundraiser with only 1 or 2 weeks before the event date. What this does is, it leaves very little time to  promote your event through media and get the items and attractions that you would want. This point would be recurring as you would see it ties into several of the other points down below. Give yourself at least a month to get your event organized!

2) Promote your event.

To raise funds any event requires foot traffic. Getting the word out about your event in advance will help maximize reach. Use as many channels as possible to promote your event. There are many free options to choose from.  We suggest that event organizers can start with the press.

Newspapers are likely to do a write up about the event, include it in their events section, and distribute the information in the paper and online. Get a local radio station to talk about your event and possibly do a live broadcast on the day of. It’s sure to get you a lot of exposure.

Also, make sure to make a Facebook and an Eventbrite event. This will give you an estimated number of people attending. Keep in mind, only 30-50% of Facebook attendees will show up.

3) Target Families, especially children.

One benefit of a fundraising event is that it can provide a low cost entertainment for the entire family. You can either charge for admission, charge for your attractions or have a combination of both. When considering inflatables, you can have it all covered with your admission fee or do a ‘Pay per play’ model where a 3-5 minute ride on an inflatable would cost between 2 and 3 dollars. When doing this, make sure that you have entertainment for all age groups. Here are some recommendations.

Entertainment for toddlers.

What we like to suggest for children ages 2-6 are inflatables such as our toddler units. These bouncy castles for small children are perfect for those who are now getting their sea legs and not quite big enough to play with the older children. Toddler units usually have bright colours, interactives, small slides, and low walls. The low walls on these units are important as they allow parents to easily watch their children.

Entertainment for children.

There are lots of entertainment options for children. From bouncers, to obstacles, games and interactives as well as entertainers such as clowns and face painters, there is always something to entertain this demographic. Make sure then when you are promoting your event that you highlight your attractions as this would generate you the most foot traffic.

For Teens, Adults and All Ages.

Entertaining for this demographic while maintaining a family friendly atmosphere is sometimes a challenge. Some families may have teens and tweens that are ‘too cool’ for these ‘kiddie’ events, but by having some entertainment for them your fundraiser can truly be a full family entertainment event. Obstacle courses and interactives are a big hit among teenagers and even some adults.

4. Fun + Food = Fun Food

What is an event without something to eat? With high energy activity, providing options for a refueling snack is a great way to raise some quick cash. The classic popcorn machine rentals, cotton candy machine rental or snow cone machine rental are easy to operate and provide low cost options for your food and maximum profits.

Consider this, the standard rental price of a popcorn machine is $99. Serving 100 bags of popcorn would cost you $50. Selling each bag at a the low price $2/bag would net you $31.63. Now this does not seem like a lot but if you had a reasonable 800 popcorn sales throughout a day or weekend event, profits would be over $1000.

Tip 1: Don’t sell your fun food at the location with cash. Have a ticket sales booth and fun food machine operators will take tickets. It removes the hassle from operating and providing change where there are most likely line ups.

Tip 2: When renting a bouncer and a fun food machine, ask us about our packages for fundraisers. For example: We have our Mega Deal Combo where you rent 2 standard bouncers and a fun food machine and get 50 servings of fun food for only $499. That saves you over $70 on your machine, making your event even more profitable.

5. Volunteers.

Volunteers are a great way to save money on your event. They allow you to make it bigger, the organizer can focus on running the event, and you save on staff costs. Send out your volunteer requests to high schools and local business organizations such as your local chamber of commerce. It never hurts to have too many volunteers. In a pinch, you can always hire staff one of our to operate a bouncer or fun food machine for you.

Note: If you are having your event at a public park, a school and some private establishments such as churches, you may be required to have some of our staff on site for insurance purposes.

6. Get someone notable.

Invite your mayor, local MPs, Councillors and local celebrities. By having these notables at your event, they will most likely talk about it before hand, increasing your exposure and bring a crowd. Point 1 is important here as they have busy schedules. Booking them early is important to having them come to your event. Have an opening ceremony where the Mayor discusses your cause and makes a presentation. You can even raise funds by putting them in a dunk tank and charging to throw a ball. This works especially well if they are a politician!

Hopefully these tricks and tips set you off on the right track to successful fundraising. If you are planning a fundraiser or any other event and would like us to help, make sure to send us a request or call Niagara Inflatables & Games at 905-646-JUMP (5867) and chat with one of our experienced event planners.

It’s Summer and you’re probably not thinking about the holiday season just yet, but Christmas is only away!

We’ve got a big gift bag of specials for you to take advantage of available only until August 15th, 2016. Get them before they head back to the North Pole.

Photo Booth Bonus

Get a bonus hour of photo booth rental time when you book for an event between Nov 1, 2016 and Jan 2, 2017. Includes fun holiday props.

Stuffy’s 10% off Winter Parties

Save 10% when you book a party, birthday or holiday at Stuffy’s Fun Station. That’s about $30 or more in savings!

50% off Fun Food Machines

Get a cotton candy, popcorn or snow cone machine rental at 50% off when you rent any inflatable bouncer. Servings extra.

Work Christmas Decorations.

When you book any Combo Bouncer (starting at $299), get a Free Inflatable Christmas Decoration Set of your choice.

Current Options Available:

• Santa & Snowman in Sled pulled by Reindeer.
• Christmas Tree with 2 snowmen plus Snowman and Elves on a Sled (2 units)
• Merry Go Round plus Big and Little Snowman (2 units)

Save $25 off Santa!

Get Santa to visit your event and save $25 when your order is over $500 before delivery and taxes.

Terms & Conditions

Events must be fully paid for and signed before Aug 15, 2016 at 5:00 PM EST. Subject to unit availability. Only for events between Nov 1, 2016 and Jan 2, 2017.

Your complete guide to summer Fun in Niagara and Southern Ontario.

We put on some of the biggest inflatable events all summer long and this is where you can find them. We will be updating this list with added events, and keeping you posted on changes. Make sure to come back often, or follow us on our social channels for updates as well. We’ve broken it down by Month for you. Subscribe to our newsletter and get free FunZone tickets.

July

July 29-August 1 – St. Catharines Rotary Ribfest
Montebello Park – St. Catharines (FREE ADMISSION)
FRI 29th: 12 PM- 9 PM
SAT 30th: 12 PM – 9 PM
SUN 31: 12 PM- 9 PM
MON 1: 12 PM – 9 PM
Save on your ribs!

August

July 29-August 1 – St. Catharines Rotary Ribfest
Montebello Park – St. Catharines (FREE ADMISSION)
FRI 29th: 12 PM- 9 PM
SAT 30th: 12 PM – 9 PM

SUN 31: 12 PM- 9 PM
MON 1: 12 PM – 9 PM
St. Catharines Ribfest Concert Schedule.

August 6th & 7th – Jerk Festival
Centennial Park – Etobicoke
SAT 6th: 11 AM – 9 PM
SUN 7th: 11 AM – 8 PM
Buy Tickets to the Jerk Festival Toronto

August 13th & 14th – St. Catharines Wingfest

Lakeside Park – St Catharines
SAT 13th: 11 AM – 8 PM
SUN 14th: 11 AM – 6 PM
Find details on Facebook.

August 20th & 21st – Port Credit Buskerfest

Port Credit Memorial Park – Port Credit
SAT 20th: 1 PM- 8:30 PM
SUN 21st: 1 PM – 7 PM
Buskerfest KidsZone Entertainment

September

September 3rd & 4th – Sudbury Ribfest
LOC TBD – Sudbury ON
SAT 3rd: 11 AM – 7 PM
SUN 4th: 11 AM – 6 PM
Sudbury Ribfest on Facebook.

September 17th & 18th – Niagara Wine Festival
Montebello Park – St. Catharines
SAT 17th: 11 AM – 7:30 PM
SUN 18th: 12 PM – 7 PM

September 24th & 25th – Niagara Wine Festival
Montebello Park – St. Catharines
SAT 24th: 11 AM-7:30 PM
SUN 25th: 12 PM- 7:00 PM

What does Canada Day look like for a bouncy castle company?

A lot of our customers start planning for Canada Day a year in advance. As you have probably read in the papers, there are lots of celebrations in your area and beyond. Here are some of the cities where we you can find us.

Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, Thorold, Welland, Port Colborne, Grimsby, Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville, Milton, Mississauga, Port Credit, Waterloo, Cambridge, London, Woodstock, Kitchener, Guelph, Dryden and that’s not even all of it.

Cool Stats:

• 12 Trucks
• 10 transport vehicles
• 140+ staff
• 99% bouncer inventory rental
• 2 phone operators

A lot of prep goes into making sure your Canada Day celebrations go off without a hitch. Make sure to find us at our FunZones.

Milton – Milton Fairgrounds – 12-7 PM

Oakville – Bronte Heritage Park – 12-8 PM

And from all of us here HAPPY and SAFE CANADA DAY!

Looking forward to Canada’s 150th Birthday in 2017!

Looking for entertainment this May 24 long weekend? Besides fireworks, BBQs and the general kick-off to the Canadian outdoor season, the Angry Birds Movie hits theaters.

With lots of movies such as Captain America: Civil War (aka Avengers 2.5), and Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice being geared to the over 13 demographic, it’s good to see some programming being geared to general audiences.

Watch the trailer for Angry Birds the Movie below. If your kids love the movie or the game, make sure to check out our Angry Birds themed panel for Themed Bouncy Castles.

There isn’t much that we here can say here about the tragedy that is occurring in Fort McMurray that the press and media hasn’t and isn’t covering. Our thoughts and prayers go to the people and families affected by the disaster and our full support goes to the firefighters putting their lives on the line to reduce the further losses. May their efforts not be understated and wishing them a safe return to their families.

It saddens our hearts here at Niagara Inflatables & Games to see such loss. To help, we are donating 10% of proceeds on all rentals from now to the end of May, for events in May, to relief efforts being made by the Red Cross. We understand that not everyone may be in a position to make a donation themselves, but if you are, you can make a donation directly to the Red Cross by visiting www.redcross.ca/donate.

If you cannot donate, please spread the word as you may know someone who can assist those families in need. Even the smallest amount will help.

Inspired by Natalie Paramore‘s Snapchat via Tastemade, we had to share our favorites of these delicious snow cones for this summer. Due to the nature of Snapchat’s disappearing posts, we’re sharing the highlights of the snap story here. Thanks Natalie!

Continue reading Super Snow Cones →

Well it’s not a space themed bouncy castle like our Star Wars Themed Bouncy Castle option, it’s not even something that we as Ontario’s Bounce House and entertainment rental company can offer. But it’s still SO COOL.

NASA is sending an ‘inflatable bounce house’ to the ISS soon. It’s part of an experiment to create new living space for future missions to other planets and to give ample habitation in long term space missions.

The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module or BEAM test capsule when inflated will provide a 10.5 by 13 foot space that can also withstand solar and cosmic radiation, space debris, UV radiation and all the other nasty stuff that comes with space travel. The TSSA rating on this must be nuts!

Here’s a video of how the ISS Space Arm will install BEAM.

Here’s hoping that this experiment is a success. We’re getting closer to bouncy castles on Mars. With that low gravity, kids are going to be jumping pretty high.

We’re telling mother nature to speed up spring and get it going with this SUPER SPRING deal.

Rent ANY bouncy castle and get:

• 1 Free Carnival Game valued at $50
• 10 Tubs of Cotton Candy

Make your spring a little more SUPER FUN. Any bounce house, any price. Can be combined with birthday party special. Only for events occurring until May 31, 2016.

 Call to book  or   Book Online

Taxes and delivery extra. Subject to unit availability. Call for more details.

The new Star Wars Movie Trailer dropped today. It was announced that Disney will be releasing a new Star Wars movie every year starting with last year’s huge blockbuster success Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This year’s movie is Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Set between the events of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Episode IV: A New Hope, Rogue One is going to take us along the path of the Rebel Alliance and how they go about stealing the plans to the Death Star.

It looks like this Star Wars entry is also going to focus on a strong female character, as we are introduced to Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones, The Amazing Spider-man 2) as she seems to be captured by the Empire and is on trial for her actions. We also see popular Star Wars character Mon Mothma, the leader of the Rebel Alliance in the original trilogy make an appearance and the final assembly of the original Death Star.

Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker also makes an appearance in the trailer and by the end of the trailer he asks “What will you become?” as Jyn dawns an imperial uniform. The trailer raises a lot of questions, but with use of practical effects, we’re excited for this Star Wars addition.

Is your kid Star Wars Crazy? You can have a Star Wars Themed Party with our Themed Bouncy Castle and by adding on the Star Wars Bouncy Castle Themed Panel. When you book, ask us how we can even have Darth Vader visit your party. Watch the trailer below.

Last week we saw the release of the ever so anticipated and ever so hyped, start of the summer blockbuster movie by DC Comics and Warner Brothers (That was a mouthfull), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Also a mouth full.)

Despite mixed reviews, Batman V Superman according to it’s first weekend numbers is setting a whole bunch of records and exceeding expectations. Domestically, BvS brought in $166 million and internationally over $254 million. Combining the two figures, it makes BvS the biggest opening weekend for any superhero movie and one of the largest opening weekend movies of all time. BvS only sits behind movies such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Avatar, Jurassic World.

Among the mixed reviews however, there seems to be a consensus among a particular demographic which generally enjoys the movie. The under 18 and the under 25 crowd. On average these groups have given the 2:30 minute Zack Snyder directed film scores of A- and B+ respectively at the time of writing this post. Another positive is that parents are recommending the film to other parents as an option for movies to take their kids to despite the somewhat brutal nature of the scenes.

One thing is for certain, Batman v Superman is the definitive kick off to the DC Cinematic Universe and kids are going to be talking about Batman and Superman and Wonder Woman too for the next year until we see the Wonder Woman stand alone film released.

Fortunately we do have Batman v Superman units to satisfy your DC Fans bounce house needs. With Niagara Inflatables having the region’s largest inventory of bouncy castles, obstacle courses and party rentals, our Justice League Bouncy Castles and our Justice League Obstacle Course feature Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash and the rest of the gang. To get more information on these units you can Rent a Bouncy Castle or give us a call at 905-646-5867.

This is big news. Disney’s Zootopia has just overtaken the longstanding and popular Frozen Franchise as it’s #1 opening weekend animated film. According to Box office figures, Zootopia took in $73.7 million domestically on its opening weekend and $232.5 million worldwide. This is higher than 2013’s Release of Frozen.

There are many reasons as to why this movie is becoming such a huge success. At the time of this writing, Zootpopia has a 99% Fresh rating on popular film ranking site Rotten Tomatoes. Frozen currently has a ranking of 89%. As time goes on, we will probably see the Rotten Tomatoes score even out, but 99% is still pretty impressive.

With the popularity of Frozen, we purchased not just 1, but 2 Themed inflatables and a themed panel. As Zootopia may be the next big thing for kids. We want to know your opinion on how we should treat this latest hit.

We’re Finalists for FEO!

Another event season is upon us and there’s no better way to start it off. We are pleased announcethat Niagara Inflatables & Games is a finalist for this year’s Service Excellence Award: Alternate Entertainment Provider. (But you already knew that from the first line.)

From Festivals and Events Ontario “Each year at the FEO annual conference, [FEO acknowledges its] members’ hardwork through our annual Awards Program, highlighting the best in industry practices and the hard work and commitment of those who make the festivals and events industry in Ontario such a success.”

We are proud to be recognized as part of this industry and community in making Ontario a world class destination for events. Not only do successful events drive our local economy with over $2.3 billion contributed to our local GDP and employs over 55,000 people across the province, Ontario events are a key indicator of Canadian culture and social progress.

Being a supplier to over 15 of the Top 100 Events in Ontario and being named the Service Excellence Award winner in previous years, Niagara Inflatables is committed to delivering the best in inflatable rentals and entertainment.

Good luck to all the other finalists this year and here’s to another great year of events in Ontario.

For more information on Festivals & Events Ontario. Visit www.festivalsandeventsontario.ca

It’s a big year for the Superbowl. This year is the 50th one!  Here’s our list for the top 5 rented items for Superbowl Parties.

Number 5: 20′ Movie Screen

Take the biggest sporting event in North America to the next level. With a 20′ Movie Screen, it doesn’t get much bigger than that! Our movie screen not only plays movies, but it can be hooked up to any HDMI connection so that the game can be played live with big sound too. If you are planning a big party in a big location, this is the item for you. There’s only one screen available, so the earlier you book the better.

Number 4: Cotton Candy Machine

What would the game be without snacks? Sure you have the nachos, chips and dip all ready to go, but some people have a sweet tooth. Adding cotton candy to the mix has been growing in popularity over the past few years and is always a favorite with kids.

Number 3: Tugga Touchdown

Pre-game like a pro. There’s no better event than the Superbowl to have this amazingly fun sports challenge. Who needs a pre-game show when you can run your own tournament before the game. Fast 1 on 1 action will get everyone excited for the game. Why not split your groups into teams and have a game outcome prediction based on your scores.

Number 2: Fantasy Football

Just like Tugga Touchdown, this pre-game activity is very popular around football sports events. At only 12’x 7′ x 10′ high the compact Fantasy Football game is where you can show off your own pigskin tossing skills.

Number 1: Popcorn Machine

Yes, this is our most popular rental for the Superbowl, and sporting events. Everyone loves popcorn and with easy pre-packs, there’s no chores of measuring or mixing. Bonus, we take care of the clean up when you rent a popcorn machine.

Looking to plan your own Superbowl party? Book an inflatable for an event in February of 2016 and get a free Popcorn Machine, Cotton Candy Machine or Snow Cone Machine rental with it. 

It’s 2016 and an Olympic year. It’s hard to believe that one of our prominent promotional rental items was only invented 20 years ago. The Sky Dancer also known as “Dancing Tube Men” and “Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Failing Tube Men” is often found in front of car dealerships and new restaurants.

This new video by Great Big Story tells the “Tale of Tall Boy: The Origin of the Inflatable Man.” It provides us with fun facts such as their first appearance in the 1996 Olympic Games and that they were created by Trinidadian artist Peter Minshall. (Niagara Inflatables fun fact: we have a Trinidadian on our staff!)

With the Olympic Games being an even bigger event than Toronto hosted PanAm Games in 2015, we can’t wait to see how our interactive fantasy sports games will be used in events alongside the Sky Dancer. Watch the video below and stay tuned for more fun history lessons.

The temperature is dropping and let’s be honest, fall in Ontario is pretty wet. So if you’re planning a party this fall or winter, it’s better to take it indoors. Here’s our picks for best halls around Niagara for Bouncy Castle Indoor Parties.

St. Catharines

Merritton Community Centre
Ridley College
Port Weller Community Centre and check out this Birthday Hall Special available there
Boys & Girls Club of Niagara

Thorold

Thorold Community Activities Group
Holy Rosary Hall

Niagara-on-the-Lake

Niagara on the Lake Community Centre

Niagara Falls

Scotiabank Convention Centre
YMCA Niagara Falls

Fort Erie

YMCA Fort Erie

Ridgeway

Crystal Ridge Community Centre

Grimsby

Peach King Centre

Beamsville

Calvary Gospel Church

Here’s a sweet and easy Halloween Treat Idea! Make a cotton candy spider web.

What you’ll need is:
Cotton Candy/Candy Floss Maker
Servings of white flavoured cotton candy
Cone or wooden spoon to get cotton candy
Bags or containers for servings
Gummy Spiders

Set up your cotton candy machine and have your gummy spiders ready. You can gummy spiders in most grocery stores around Halloween in the seasonal or candy section. You can rent an easy to use cotton candy machine from a party rental store.
Once you turn on your cotton candy machine be ready to use the cone or wooden spoon to grab the cotton candy.

Layer the cotton candy in small amounts into the container adding a gummy spider.

Repeat.

That’s it! It’s a tasty treat for a Halloween party or to give out to trick or treaters.

by the way, you can add gummy anything to switch it up.

The kids are back in school and the holidays are just around the corner. With a great summer coming to an end, it’s hard to think of unique birthday and fall party ideas that will top the amazing summer parties and get togethers. We have some tricks and suggestions for you.

Make it a Hoedown!

It’s a classical fall party which will appeal to all ages.  Many farms  rent out their barns for such an occasion. With the barn option, you can take the party indoors if the weather is cool or rainy, thus ensuring a successful event no matter what nature says. If the party is closer to Halloween, have a pumpkin carving contest or make a scarecrow. Tractor rides on the farm are likely a fun option for kids as well.

Driveway Drive-In

The temperatures are dropping and you want to hold on the the outdoors for as long as you can. By hosting a drive-in in your own driveway with a Giant Movie Screen, you can bring lots of entertainment while keeping warm inside you car. Give it an authentic feel with a concession stand decked out with a full size popcorn machine.

Pancake Party

Load on the maple syrup, Nutella, bananas, and all the other toppings you can think of. Or try and be colourful with rainbow pancakes. This is a universally fun way to have a party. This type of party is good in the morning, afternoon or evening and for all ages. I’m hungry just thinking about it. Are you?

Costume Party

Maybe one of the most obvious ideas, but it’s worth a mention PLUS kids love showing off their Halloween costumes! May as well get the most out of those cute outfits too. Run these any time in October with a Candy Apple Hunt or a candy trade party after Halloween. Make it extra spooky with a fog machine rental or fun with a bubble machine rental.

What is a Candy Trade Party? With Peanut sensitive children, this is a great option to have a post halloween party where kids can trade their peanut candies for ones that they can enjoy with friends that don’t have allergies. It also gives picky kids the opportunities to get what they really like. Set up some trading rules such as 1 pt for candies, 2 pts for mini chocolates and 4 pts for full bars etc. This just makes sure everything is fair.

Fun Fair Tips

With Back 2 School, fundraisers, meet the teacher days, orientations, new student welcome events, PTA groups don’t get a break. With so many activities and details to plan, use a reputable bouncy castle rental company for your Fun Fair.  You know who we’re talking about 😉

Wrap up you summer with these COOL August Specials!

Play Day Special

Birthday Pricing on select inflatables for weekday (mon-thu) rentals. Even if it isn’t a birthday party. Get together with neighbours, friends or family and put together a Play Day to get the kids out of your hair. Great for afternoon fun.

Chill Out Special

Chill out with this refreshing summer package from Niagara Inflatables & Games.

Get a snow cone machine plus 25 servinggs of cool blue syrup and our fire brigade bucket challenge water dunk tank for $249+delivery and taxes. Upgrades available.

Throw an exciting, fun and refreshing back yard party, great for kids of all ages. Upgrades available.

MEGA Deal Combo

Rent two bouncers and a fun food machine with 25 servings for only $499. Valid Until Nov 30, 2015. Upgrades available.

Restrictions apply on all specials and combos. Subject to delivery and HST. Call for more details

Whether you business has been around for 50 years or is a new start up, a summer corporate picnic is a great way to show your employees appreciation at a different time of year than the December holiday season. Here are some tips, ideas and suggestions to make your company picnic a success!

#1 Notice

Give your employees, friends and other invites ample notice as to when your company picnic will be. People take a lot of their vacation time during these months and may feel left out if you schedule your company picnic when you know that they are going to be away. Also, you wouldn’t want to run an event where no one shows up. The more the merrier. Also consider you schedules and their families. You won’t be able to please everyone, but giving ample notice and making consideration will lend to better turnout.

#2 Reminder

If you followed tip #1, you would have told people far in advanced about your upcoming family company event. As most are unlikely to mark this sort of thing in their calendars, it would be wise to remind them when closer to the event date. It’s up to you how you want to do this. It may be easiest to use your email marketing software to schedule reminders to your employee and company list. 1 month, 2 week and 2 day reminders are great options to consider.

#3 The invite list

Part 1: Knowing who is coming to your event is 100% necessary for proper planning. Of course your employees will be there, but ask yourself these questions. Is this open to their partners and/or family? Am I setting a limit to the number of guests? Do I want to open this up to loyal customers and their families? How big/manageable do I want this to be?
With those questions in mind you will be on the right track to planning your company picnic.
Part 1: Consider using an event invitation system such as Eventbrite or Eventjoy to manage your event and send it out via email. DO NOT USE FACEBOOK as your primary event management system. People often ignore their Facebook event requests and you won’t get a good turnout. You may use Facebook to give updates on the event such as entertainment, discuss topics such as potluck items etc.

#4 Planning (Organizers, location)

Depending on the size of your company and how many people are coming, you may need a company picnic committee to organize it. Consider getting one member from every department to assist, but keep it to a maximum of 4-6 people as you don’t want there to be too many hands in it and if they are organizing on company time, it would cost less with a smaller team. Have your committee choose a location off your property that has easy access, ample parking and proper accessibility. The last thing you want employees thinking of is work at this time.

#5 Food

It is a picnic after all! You have several options.
1)Cater your picnic– This is the best option for larger organizations where you don’t want to deal directly with having to organize the details of food such as prep, serving, clean up.
2) Book a food truck– These are all the rave these days and are great for outdoor events. Food trucks can either be catered or if you are on a budget have them sell their food on site.
3) Master Chef– Find someone or someones on your staff who are great at and love cooking for people. Of course you don’t want them to feel like it’s a work day, so keep this option for a small to mid sized organizations. Also, don’t forget to show your appreciation for helping out by giving them a special gift at the end of it all.
4) Potluck– The perfect option for a smaller business. Often done at Holiday Parties as with a smaller group this can be managed by that infamous Facebook group.
Snacks… as always, providing picnic food such as cotton candy, popcorn machines and snow cones is a staple to your event. If you are running a sports tournament or company movie night, having these essentials are key.

Note: Make sure to cater for all dietary concerns.

#6 Fun

Food goes hand in hand with the fun. Make sure to know your audience and have the appropriate activities for the different age demographics. Making your company picnic into a softball game? Try having a kids sports zone. Or try an obstacle course tournament where individuals and teams for best time and prizes. It’s a great way to build team spirit and have a blast.
Everyone is impressed by magic. Get an entertainer or impress with movie magic on an outdoor movie screen.

#7 Safety

This is an often overlook aspect to company picnics and just like your workplace, safety should always be first. Have a first aid kit on site. Delegate someone who has first aid training as day’s safety officer. Have an emergency plan. It can be as simple as call 911. Rent from Insured inflatable companies that meet TSSA requirements.
For outdoor events in summer, make sure to provide a hydration station, shaded areas via tent rentals and even providing sunblock.

#8 Backup Plans

In case of weather, have a back up plan to re-schedule or re-locate. If you have your event at a city park, there may be an arena nearby where you can move your activities into. Research these alternatives when looking into your event location. If you have rented tents, they can provide you the shelter you need from rain and intense sun.

#9 Memories

What is a picnic unless you have memories to go along with them? Make sure to capture these memories with a dedicated photographer. Preferably someone with experience in event coverage. As it isn’t always fair to have someone behind a camera all day and miss out on being in the pictures themselves. Hire a photographer. We recommend this event photographer.