Bradford couple John and Shaina Pirri recently opened their own event company, Magical Events.
On Sunday, the pair were set up at the Portuguese Cultural Centre for The Sunday Market shopping event, handing out complimentary bags of popcorn and cotton candy. Both were happy to be out in the community, interacting with shoppers and potential clients.
John is a Bradford native, who met Shaina from Midland when both were attending Georgian College 18 years ago.
"I am homegrown," laughed John, "I've been here all my life."
The couple then moved to Bradford in 2010, and have three children together, a six-year-old daughter and a twin three-year-old sons.
It is their children who are the inspiration for their business. The idea to go into business came about last year, after seeing a need for entertainment at home throughout the pandemic.
Running a business in town isn't new for the couple, who also own local cleaning company J&S Cleaning Solutions.
The advantage to owning a business in town is that "everybody knows who you are", says John.
Magical Events are constantly looking for new ways to keep clients entertained.
"We want to stand out because we do have competition, so we have to be different," explained Shaina.
Magical Events offers entertainment rentals on anything from inflatable castles, obstacle courses and games. They also offer rentals on snowcone, popcorn and cotton candy machines and are currently looking into providing loot bags for children's birthdays.
The company recently introduced a new mobile wood burning oven to their rental inventory, which they believe will be a popular rental piece for parties once the warmer weather hits. The couple expects the event business to pick up rapidly as COVID restrictions start to loosen.
John says their goal is to become a "one-stop-shop" for all party rental needs.
"Anything you can think of, we can rent it to you," he said.
The pair has a partnership with local bakery 'Shugie Bakes' for clients interested in adding baked goods such as cakes, cupcakes and cookies to their event services. They said they are looking to work with other local entertainment companies in the near future to collaborate and offer
Magical Events services the Bradford and surrounding areas, as far north as Midland and as far south as Toronto.
As a way to give back, Magical Events donates a portion of their proceeds to the Shine Through The Rain Foundation, supporting families through life-threatening illnesses.
To learn more about the business, check out their website here.
