“As parents ourselves, we see there is a lack of children’s and youth activities and both of us being from the children’s entertainment industry, we really want to create events that are inclusive for everyone within our growing community,” said the President of CANDY Entertainment Simcoe County, Reena Tagger-Saint Louis.
In addition to events like Cake with the Bunny, which will include storytelling, an egg hunt game, face-painting, balloon twists, and goodie bags, the pair is planning events like dance parties for teens, movie and bingo events, and camps during school breaks.
They will be forming a Youth Committee, which will invite youth in Simcoe County to have their say.
”We really want to get the youth involved, this is just as much their community as it is all ours,” said Truskolaski. “We would love to get their opinions and pick their brains on what they would like to see happening.
We want the youths' involvement in this process, giving them opportunities to help build the future of Innisfil and surrounding communities. With this, we hope to keep kids out of trouble, keep them busy and make them proud of the town we live in.”
Once officially launched, CANDY Entertainment will be offering community service hours to those high school students that participate, which will count towards the community service requirement needed to graduate in Ontario.
Joining Tagger-Saint Louis and Truskolaski, additional founding members of CANDY Entertainment include Andrea Diaz (Membership Chair), Theresa Downtown (Secretary), Nina La Costa (Marketing Chair), and Coun. Jennifer Richardson (Service Chair).
Interested in forming partnerships and applying for grants, CANDY Entertainment looks forward to providing high-quality events at an affordable price. They plan to offer events on a sliding scale so that no one is left out due to economic hardship.
“We also have a bunch of other fun ongoing activities up our sleeves which we will release information on in the coming weeks,” Tagger-Saint Louis said.
Space for the Cake with the Bunny event is limited, so readers are asked to register to attend on Eventbrite (the fee per child includes an invitation for up to two adults to attend per registrant).
Amber Green is a freelance journalist for Village Media Inc.
