Curley Barrett Jr., 64, and his family opened the inflatable bounce business July 28 at 229 East Ave. K-8, No. 111. Barrett's
children, who work in other professions, took his entrepreneurial advice."We had been looking for a while for a venture," said
Barrett's daughter Chonnea Harris, 29, a third-grade teacher at Mariposa Elementary School in Lancaster. "We have our own jobs.
Dad put it in our minds that it's best owning your own ompany." Harris and her brother Cravonne Barrett, 27, who works in financial
services and is a football and basketball referee with the Mojave Desert Officials Association, did their homework. They discovered
that the Antelope Valley lacked a party bounce facility, and decided that families would respond to the idea. "We did the research,"
Cravonne Barrett said. "We found this company, Magic Jump, in Sunland." Of all the sources they researched, he said, that
company had the highest quality product. The next hurdle was determining where to set up shop."Finding a place was the main
problem," Harris said. "Finding a place that was big enough and tall enough. We needed the square footage, 25-foot high ceilings
and someone willing to trust the business." The building's owners, Encino-based Cambridge Corp., extended their trust and
welcomed the new business. The next problem was finding insurance. A 5,000-square-foot facility filled with a maximum of 70
bouncing, energetic children presents a variety of liability scenarios. "It's tough to locate insurance to cover this type of business,"
Cravonne Barrett said. "It took a month and a half to find the insurance. It was a company that specializes in this type of business."
The purple-and-yellow-themed Jump Palace features a medieval castle with a basketball hoop, a 22-foot double-lane slide, soccer
kick and football toss lanes and a 52-foot-long obstacle course. Sunlight streams through skylights in the high ceiling. "It doesn't
take much light to keep it lit," Cravonne Barrett said. Parents may accompany their children on the inflatables, he said. Barrett said
their mother, Cathy, 53, uses the castle, the slide and the obstacle course for a good workout. "My mom plays on the stuff every
day as an exercise program," he said. "She gets tired. She works up a sweat," Harris said. Children and adults must remove their
shoes and wear socks to play on the inflatables, which are made of strong vinyl. The weight maximum is 275 pounds. Parents must
sign a waiver for each child and stay while the child plays - no dropping off little Johnny and coming back later. The Jump Palace
hosts private parties for birthdays, sports teams, class field trips, day-care facilities and schools. The party room is decked out in
yellow and purple, with a decorated table, a fairy-tale mural and a throne for the honored child. The Jump Palace provides food and
drink - "everything but the cake," Harris said. "It's a fun, exciting place," she said, and children love it. Cravonne said, "We have
plenty of kids leave here in tears because they have to go." Chonnea Harris' husband, Brian, is an LAPD officer who also works in
the business. They have a daughter, Leah, 1. Cravonne Barrett's wife is named Tiffany. Curley Barrett, who works in paralegal
services and financial services, said of his family of four girls and one son, "It's my gift. We have been very blessed. There are so
many ways children can go wrong. My kids are still nearby. We are close and we get along. You try to raise 'em right." Children can
come for open play at Jump Palace from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for $6. Jump Palace also sells socks.

For details, call (661) 729-3687.
tforde@avpress.com

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