The Play’s the Thing

It’s time for another Dreams Happen Gala and we’ve cooked up a playful and action-packed donation for this year’s auction. Since 1999, we’ve joined other local builders and architects in creating special structures for the bi-annual Dreams Happen fundraiser. (See our previous post for pictures of past playhouses.) The proceeds benefit Rebuilding Together Peninsula, a non-profit that helps low-income homeowners with repairs and maintenance to their houses.

This year’s playhouse, The Play’s the Thing, features a stage befitting any young thespian. We’ve also included a ticket window and a two-story balcony so this theater is ready for Shakespeare or Off-Broadway.

Once the show’s over, this playhouse offers young actors a twisty slide, two towers, a rope net climb, a rung ladder and a swing to keep the fun going. Rock climbing handholds along both towers offer a challenging way up for those who have mastered the rope net climb.

We are so excited that this year we’ll also be sharing the stage with Frank Gehry, the renowned architect behind structures such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain. His creation, Tour en l’Air, is inspired by a ballet leap and evokes a feeling of lightness and grace. For more on Frank Gehry, please see this article from the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

The twelve playhouses will be at the Stanford Shopping Center for viewing from now until the Gala on June 6 where they will be auctioned off. Stop by and check them out!