Why we still gather

(It’s because you’ve shown us it’s worth it.)

9/12/21

Dear PLAY Families, 

Is it worth the trouble to gather? We’ve asked ourselves this question in a million small and large ways over the past year and a half (both as parents and as business owners)—and we know you have too. In March 2020, while crash-coursing in Zoom, and much later, when getting a handful of families together in person became possible (with masks and a lot of extra steps), we asked: Will parents be willing to do all of this? And can it still be good under the circumstances?

You’ve taught us that it can. Whether you were in that first group of volunteers who popped into Zoom to test it out with us, or among the crowds who filled our screens (and our spirits) through the darkest parts of 2020 for music classes and holiday parties, or one of those first few families who ventured back into PLAY, remembering a pleasantly crowded place of shared toys and shared snacks (and probably wondering how it could possibly work before you saw how we had emptied out the space, and how small we were keeping the classes), you have all given us moments of connection through music, art, and your children that were more than worth all the work that went into them, ours and, we hope you agree, yours too.

The harder question—Is it worth the risk to gather in person?—is one that every family with young children has to answer for themselves. We know that the answers are different, which is why we will offer you as many class options as we can for as long as we can, including Zoom (which, we confess, we still love). While we’d never tell anyone how to navigate risk, we can tell you that we will continue to ask ourselves the question, and continue to balance minimizing risk with responsibly offering what positive experiences we can for families.

Since I’ve babbled on this long, I’ll take one more line to tell you that this phase of the pandemic is the trickiest one we’ve experienced as a business. If you’ve been thinking about participating in one of our programs, telling a friend about PLAY, or even picking up something from our store, we would love it, and, as always, we greatly appreciate your support.

The first of our fall ’21 programs starts tomorrow. If you’ve already signed up, thank you! Info & enrollment are here on our site. If you would like to speak with a human by phone before choosing a program for your child, we’d be delighted to talk with you. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday mornings are the best times to try us by phone. If we miss your call, please leave us a message, and we’ll get right back to you: 323.988.1189. (You can also reach us by email, anytime.) 

Many thanks from all of us at PLAY. We hope to see you soon–
Anne & James