Bounce house at Galleria Mall open through beginning of August

Bounce house at Galleria Mall open through beginning of August By Dana Harrison Are you looking for a way to entertain your kids on the weekends? FUNBOX's "World's Biggest Bounce Park" opened in Roseville on April 23 and runs through the beginning of August. Park hours are from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays at 1151 Galleria Blvd. in the Galleria Mall's parking lot. According to its website, FUNBOX is a full-service, production company based in Southern California, with one permanent location in Arcadia. As of 2022, FUNBOX has appeared in three California cities: Roseville, Arcadia and Long Beach. After FUNBOX departs Roseville in August, FUNBOX will move to a temporary site in Anaheim. According to FUNBOX co-founder Antonio Nieves, Roseville is the first city in Northern California to host a FUNBOX Park. Nieves brought the park to Roseville through his partnerships with Westfield, Simon and Brookfield malls, according to Nieves. "I kind of am an extension of their marketing services," Nieves said. "We operate and work in a partnership with the mall, where we're just trying to get people back into the mall and bringing their kids out." Nieves designed the park in 2020 and received inspiration from his nine younger siblings, who all went through the foster care system when they were younger. "This is why all FUNBOX locations support a small, localized, community charity that advocates and supports children in foster care," Nieves wrote on the FUNBOX website. During the April 23 opening weekend, all proceeds from FUNBOX tickets went directly to Foster Hope in Sacramento. Nieves told Gold Country Media that FUNBOX donated $5,000 to Foster Hope. "It's really important to do something in the community while I'm here," Nieves said. "Every city I go, I partner with a local charity that's not a national chain, somewhere that I know that the money is going to go a long way." Nieves said he supports foster care programs that help foster teenagers since he adopted his 16-year-old sister from the foster care system when he was only 20. The FUNBOX park features 25,000 square feet of continuous jumping zones that connect to 10 different play areas. There's also a 23-foot slide accompanied with a dodgeball court, battle beam, sumo challenge, tetherball court, toddler zone, giant maze and a soundtrack spun by a deejay in a giant blow-up octopus. In addition, Nieves has a lawn area set up outside of the park where parents can sit under shaded areas while their children enjoy the park and play backyard games such as cornhole and Connect4. Food trucks are also outside of the park. As of May 13, FUNBOX Park has received more than 12,000 visitors, according to Nieves. "I brought my 4-year-old, and she's begging to come back," said Roseville resident Kayla Scott. "It's actually safer than a trampoline park." Nieves said that more than 200,000 visitors have been to the FUNBOX Parks and there was only one major injury. According to Nieves, a 16 year old was on the lawn outside of the bounce house and did a backflip, resulting in a knee-related injury. Nieves encourages the community to try his FUNBOX park. "It's a really fun experience to do at least once," Nieves said. "It's a novelty thing." Visit https://www.funbox.com/roseville/ for tickets. Toddlers and seniors have no admission fees and general admission for all other ages is $22. FUNBOX offers a military and veteran discount of $19.