Center plays around with kids' entertainment
Uptown Playaround opens in Kendall Park for playtime, birthday parties
BY CHRIS MURINO Staff Writer

CHRIS MURINO Phoenix Akinlawon pushes buttons and makes music as Uptown Playaround employee Pearl Bernstein assists her at the new children's facility.

SOUTH BRUNSWICK - Little Phoenix is having a ball. She's running around, dancing and going down slides while her mom looks on. They're at Uptown Playaround, a new children's center located on Route 27 in Kendall Park.

"It's awesome," said Phoenix's mother, Olayinka Akinlawon. "I've been thinking about something like this for a while. This community is full of families and children. We need it."

Uptown Playaround, with lots of open floor space, a 150-square-foot playhouse with multiple slides, a stage and a separate area for toddlers, opened on Nov. 30, and owner Marina Drits said everything has been going well.

"We had a good response from the neighborhood," she said. "The kids don't want to leave. And the parents, after their first visit, ask about birthday parties."

Drits said she got the idea for the Playaround because of her own two kids.

"I have two kids," she said. "Staying at home with them, I wanted to find a play center where I can bring my kids."

Employee Pearl Bernstein, a student at Rutgers University, really enjoys working there.

"I'd rather go down a slide than sit at a desk," Bernstein said. "Marina's great, the atmosphere's great."

She is also surprised at how fast the business is growing.

"We're starting to get much more notice," Bernstein said. "We've started to expand much more than I expected."

Drits said she wanted to form her utopian play center.

"There's lots of room to just run around the place," Drits said. "It's bright. The props are one of a kind and they're all custom made by a set designer just for us."

One of Uptown Playaround's main draws is its unique ability to throw a birthday party.

"They're different, structured, and have a lot of interaction between the children and the host," the owner said.

Drits has party-planning rooms, where she sits down with the birthday boy or girl and his or her parents to come up with the perfect birthday party.

"We ask questions to personalize the party for each child," Drits said. "What characters do you like? What are your favorite shows? What did you like best about your last birthday party? What has to happen if the party is totally successful?"

Drits said this makes each party different.

"Some want a lot of free time and others want a party with a lot of entertainment, so we'd have a lot more games, all with a twist," Drits said.

For instance, one birthday girl loved the character Hello Kitty.

"All of the games would involve Hello Kitty," Drits said. "Instead of Simon Says, it was Hello Kitty Says. During freeze dance, the birthday girl gave a Hello Kitty sticker to the child with the best pose."

Drits has also started The Birthdays Project. Once a month, children living in foster homes and in shelters will get to have a full birthday party at Uptown Playaround.

"We'll have very high-quality birthday parties for children who might not otherwise have them," Drits said.

There are also play groups that meet weekly. Monday mornings are for children 18 months to 3 years old, and Tuesday mornings are for children 3 to 4 years old.

"It's an opportunity to socialize with other children their age," Drits said.

Music classes will also be starting up on Mondays and Thursdays through ABC Music & Me. The instructor, Carol Selick, has a degree in early childhood and elementary education from Rutgers University and a Montessori Teaching Certificate.

"She'll bring in instruments for the children to play," Drits said. "They'll march around, do dancing. For every session, the student gets a free instrument and a free CD."

When is the popular time for kids to come in to Uptown Playaround?

"The weekends are very big for us, but it depends on the day," Bernstein said.

Drits said that during the day, it is mostly preschoolers that come in, but that kids up to about 10 years old come in at other times.

"A lot of parents expressed a need for hours later on in the day," Drits said.

Because of this need for after-school hours, Monday through Wednesday the play center closes at 6 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, it closes at 3 p.m.

Uptown Playaround is located at 3562 Route 27. For more information, call (732) 955-2005 or visit www.uptownplayaround. com.