Take a walk down sorority row. What will you see? Stunning houses, students on the way to class and … bounce houses?
Close to 10 bounce house companies serve the Oxford community. One is Oxford Inflatable Rentals, owned by Christen Coleman.
“We love Ole Miss (and) we love our students over there,” Coleman said.
One of the biggest markets for bounce houses is the Greek life circuit, Coleman shared. Oxford Inflatable Rentals has delivered to Delta Delta Delta, Chi Omega, Beta Theta Pi, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Kappa Delta and Phi Mu.
Sorority bid day, in particular, brings in a lot of business for inflatable companies. Sororities tend to favor bounce houses with a special feature: the foam cannon, which sprays soft, soapy foam into the inflatable, Coleman said.
“(Sorority girls) want us to shoot the foam, and they (can) take pictures and dance, and we make it happen,” Coleman said. “They love it.”
McKenna King, a senior psychology major from Shelby, N.C., is responsible for renting inflatables for Alpha Omicron Pi sorority. She says the sorority’s members enjoy bounce houses at events.
“I love to bring an element of surprise for my members at (Alpha Omicron Pi) during things like recruitment,” King said. “What better than a bouncy house? The simple joy it brings makes me want to rent them more in the future.”
Other on-campus groups that make use of inflatables include Ole Miss Dining Services, the University of Mississippi History Department and religious organizations.
“We delivered a 62-foot obstacle course to Avent Park for a (campus) event hosted by the University of (Mississippi Museum),” Marsha Theobald, owner and founder of Jumpin’ Jacks Inflatables, said.
While bounce houses might seem like all fun and games, there are the occasional obstacles. For instance, the size of the inflatables vary, but they are consistent in taking up a lot of space — often more than renters account for, Coleman said.
“You run into those kinds of problems,” Coleman said. “You have some college kids, and they say, ‘We want a water slide,’ and we show up and ask, ‘Where are we going to put that water slide?’ They’re like, ‘Right here.’ And I say, ‘That is not going to fit.’”
Many inflatable company owners also said that football season impacts delivery and pickup. Other routinely busy times of year for Oxford inflatable companies include the Double Decker Arts Festival, spring break, Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend.
“We have to plan accordingly,” Coleman said. “Sometimes we have three to four different teams going out. (We) can’t be late to a kid’s birthday party.”
Coleman explained that the company does most of its weekend deliveries on the Friday before game day, when traffic is not as much of an issue.
“We deliver on Friday afternoons,” Coleman said. “Parents can wake up (on Saturday) and know their water slides are already there. They can focus on the birthday party or whatever else they have going on.”
Tri Lake Inflatables Owner Jeremy Richey follows a similar practice and noted that the traffic continues even after game day.
“We try to deliver on Fridays and pick up after games are over,” Richey said. “Traffic is still crazy.”
Other routinely busy times of year for Oxford inflatable companies include the Double Decker Arts Festival, spring break, Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend.
Despite the logistical challenges that come with providing bounce houses for the community, they make those who use them jump for joy.
“Bouncy houses are part of the unexpected,” King said. “(They bring) a fun element to events like recruitment. They are almost like icebreakers that everyone can participate in and bring out their inner child.”
