Help Once Upon An Island
Once Upon An Island has been a beloved part of the Newport Beach and Balboa Island community for the past 5 years, bringing joy to children both near and far. Our unique venue here on Balboa Island offers once in a life time, magical moments for little ones. We are open daily with magical story times, crafts, and unique learning work shops. We also offer spectacular, one of a kind birthday parties and each year during Spring and Summer we offer a magical Mermaid Academy that transforms children into REAL mermaids with their favorite characters. It has become a true community staple to see our magical mermaid transformations out on the beach each year! We employ a talented team of young performers and our business is like a family to us all! From the moment you enter our doors, you can instantly feel the care and attention to detail all aimed at bringing smile and wonder to young children of all ages.
With SBA loans and grants stalled for small businesses across the country, our demographic (a company with 50 or less employees) is most at risk for receiving little to no funds or a continued delay in funds through the COVID-19 crisis. We are a small, family owned business. Both owners have small children under 3 years old and have gone unpaidsince February to help support our young performers of whom we consider family and keep our small business afloat. Our performers who rely on us for rent, food and basic necessities have been left with no work on little notice, but continue to donate their time to bring smiles to little ones through this uncertain time via educational and entertaining LIVE Instagram shows daily on our social media accounts. Their passion and dedication to bringing joy to children has never shined brighter than in this uncertain time. It does not fall lightly on our shoulders that the generation we employ is perhaps the most economically at risk as young people living paycheck to paycheck. Many of them have been asked to leave their dorms and are displaced, many are self isolating totally alone in small apartments, but all of them have opened their hearts to continue entertaining the young children who are perhaps confused and unsure of what is going on in our world.
We are reluctantly and humbly asking for help from our community and those who love and enjoy the magic that Once Upon An Island’s unique venue brings to children year around. Funds will be used solely to support our staff and pay basic rents and utilities through this time until and if funding is received in time so that we can continue to make magic for many more years to come, and so that performers can continue to offer free online entertainment during this crisis for children stuck at home.
Don’t want to donate but DO want to help? You can help GREATLY by scheduling a future appointment with us this Summer! We fully expect to be open through June at this time. Booking your party, summer camp spot or experience now & leaving a deposit would help to keep funds flowing through this difficult time. Appointments for all services including Neverland Mermaid Play to Private Princess Experiences, Summer Mermaid Academy and even Birthday Parties can be made online via our website www.onceuponanisland.net
We hope everyone will be excited and ready to rejoin their friends and family outside of the house this summer when this is all over! So please consider a party with a group of friends or a play date through our Neverland Mermaid Play or camp options.
Once Upon An Island draws in a large crowd to the Balboa Island community each year with destination travelers who find us through our popular YouTube and social media presence. Additionally, Once Upon An Island has quickly become a destination of its own, regularly drawing in Disney travelers and other non SoCal family travelers, who otherwise would not be coming to visit our community during their trip. Our unique ability to draw in out of town travelers as a popular destination venue makes us an important piece of the over all economic wellbeing of our community and city.
We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for considering a donation of any size. It is with great gratitude and the most humble of hearts that we even ask for your help at this time, knowing that everyone at this time is experiencing their own hardships. Our entire community and beyond will continue to be in our hearts through this time.
