Monday, North Texas is going to be filled with parades to celebrate the Fourth of July. Luckily, most of them will take place early in the day before the area returns to 100-degree heat. For those who love a parade but not the heat or blinding sunshine, there is one coming up in just the right conditions. It’s Dallas CASA’s 27th Annual Parade of Playhouses presented by Crest, marching in place at NorthPark Center.
From Friday, July 15, thru Sunday, July 31, there will be 12 adorable mini-mansions, each with its own personality and creators. Everything from a lighthouse and a windmill to a space ship and a fish tank created by area designers, builders, framers and contractors will be on display.
There’s even one that may be mistaken as a cave. Created by Corgan and Austin Commercial, Corgan’s Tania Madah described it as looking “like a big boulder.” It seems that the Corgan/Austin Commercial team was “so moved by the Dallas CASA mission that they designed a rock — a place of safety but also a sign of strength. They wanted children to know people will be a rock for them.”
To put that vision into full-blown reality, “the outside of the rock is a climbing structure, with hooks for rock-climbing. The inside of the cave was designed for safe cave-living.”
The hunker-down creation even has a bed and a desk built in as well as “a wall for children to make their own cave drawings.”
The Corgan/Austin Commercial team cave will be joined by 11 other playhouses and their teams, including:
“Cubes” by Andres Construction/ Omniplan; “Mars Attack!” by Balfour Beatty/Page Architecture; “Rocket” by The Beck Group; “Building Blocks” by Brasfield and Gorrie LLC/HKS/Woodhaus Inc.;”Windmill” by Butscher’s Backyard Playhouses; “Aquarium” by Crest Cadillac/Crest Infiniti/Crest Volvo; “Bolthouse” by Dallas Mavericks/DPR Construction; “Park Cities Traditional” Highland Park High School/MAPS students/Lee Lewis Construction/Stantec; “Play-Go House” by Hill and Wilkinson/Kimley-Horn; “Room With Views” by JPI Companies; and “Lighthouse” by LRO Residential.
Alas, the parade will end on Sunday, July 31, with each of the playhouses being relocated to the raffle winners’ backyards. Thanks to the craftsmanship and contributions of the playhouse creators, funds raised from the raffle will support Dallas CASA’s mission to advocate for Dallas area children “who have been removed from unsafe homes.”
According to Dallas CASA President/CEO Kathleen LaValle, “For so many of us, childhood memories are happy ones full of imagination, exploring, learning and loving families. But for too many Dallas children, childhood is a time of fear and uncertainty. Dallas CASA wants to restore childhood for these children. We want every child to have a happy childhood and to grow up to reach his or her full potential.”
The raffle tickets ($5 each of five for $20) will be available for purchase during the Parade’s run at Dallas CASA’s website and at Dallas CASA tables in NorthPark and by using the QR codes on the playhouses’ signage.
* Graphic courtesy of Dallas CASA