A humongous air-filled pillow is the next addition to Whitecourt’s Rotary Park

A few years ago, during a trip to another community, Councillor Paul Chauvet spotted something out of the ordinary which caught his attention. A Jumbo Jumper located just outside of Peace River called his name. “I knew right away that this would be a wonderful addition to Rotary Park. It’s one of those hand-in-glove things, a perfect it.”

After some planning and sponsorship from Energy Transfer Canada, Whitecourt Town Council officially voted to add a Jumbo Jumper to Rotary Park during their July regular meeting. Chelsea Grande, Director of Community Services, said the Community Services Advisory Board had found a spot they felt would be suitable for it. “They have recommended that the Jumbo Jumper be placed next to the playground for site lines, and just because those kind of activities, it’s keeping the same age group together,” explained Grande.

“Placing the Jumbo Jumper in that location has minimal impact on the overall Sportfield Master Plan. That area was slated for a future soccer field, for a youth-6 soccer field, and we feel that we can relocate that soccer field elsewhere if needed. Right now, soccer numbers aren’t that high, and it’s not required right now for development.”

When facing the playground, with your back to the main parking lot, the chosen spot is just to the right. “It’s the bermed area you’ll see down at Rotary Park. You have the playground, then you have a little berm area with trees, and then there is a space and then another berm. It’s in between those two areas. We would be knocking down the berms and flattening out the spot.” With some site work to be done first, Grande said the Jumbo Jumper would be put in place either later this summer or next summer, depending on how things go.

Councillor Derek Schlosser asked how close it would be to the playground. “It’s right close. The playground ends, and then there are some trees and a berm,” explained Grande. With a chuckle, Councillor Schlosser asked if he would be able to jump from the play structure to the Jumbo Jumper, kidding, of course. “No. You have the electronic playground first, and then there’s a fall distance from the electronic playground, which is four feet or so, and then there’s a border and then the treed area,” responded Grande with a laugh. “So, you’d really have to fly to do that then,” added Councillor Schlosser with a laugh. The light-hearted and fun conversation was a perfect fit considering how much fun the Jumbo Jumper would bring to area children and visitors alike. 

Councillor Bill McAree motioned that Council accepts the Community Services Advisory Board’s recommendation to update the Rotary Park site plan to include the Jumbo Jumper. He added, “I would like to thank Councillor Paul Chauvet for bringing this to our attention, this new addition to our park.”

Following a unanimous vote to approve it, several councillors laughed that Councillor Chauvet needs to be the first “big kid” to go for a jump once the Jumbo Jumper is installed. Councillor Chauvet agreed. “I can’t wait. We have a fantastic group of volunteers and sponsors here, people who step up and contribute to our town as they do. We are a young town, and there are strong, hardworking entrepreneurs here who want a good life for their families, and they help bring things like this here. We are very lucky.”

Jumbo Jumpers are humongous air-filled pillows that are permanently installed on the ground. It’s basically a massive inflated pillow, creating a bouncy surface to be enjoyed by children of all ages and their parents. The enormous addition will be colourful and is 35 feet by 67 feet, accommodating up to 30 people at once.

What started as a drawing on a napkin by Councillor McAree years ago, Rotary Park is now one of the most used spots in town, regularly attracting visitors to the community. “Others who come here are blown away by what we have here with a population of 10,000. I’m excited to see it added to our park for people to use.”