HOW DO I BOOK A PARTY?
It's easy! Get in touch with me via email or by phone (707 616-6876) and we'll make sure that the Redwood Raks space and / or I am available. Your reservation is secured with a $100 deposit, with the balance due at the party. I accept cash, checks, and PayPal to dance@shoshannaland.com.

HOW DO WE FINALIZE THE DETAILS?
First we email or chat by phone about your vision for the party. Then we might check in a bit as it gets closer and talk for sure by phone the week of your party (usually Wednesday or Thursday) so I can ask about the total number of party guests, ages, and #'s of boys & girls (as close as you an estimate) for setting up the party tables, getting together the party favors and preparing the craft projects. I'll also ask about cake or cupcakes, the amount of food you plan to bring, presents or no presents at the party, and any other important things!

HOW FAR IN ADVANCE SHOULD I BOOK MY PARTY?
Most people seem to book 1-2 months in advance which is great, since the studio schedule and my own calendar do get filled up. If you can plan even further ahead that's marvleous. However, if you need to make last-minue plans we will do our best to accomodate you!

CAN WE DO A DIFFERENT PARTY THEME THAN THE ONES YOU LIST?
Yes! I am happy to combine themes or integrate your ideas to create the party of your little one's dreams. We can include/exclude all sorts of party elements, and adjust the flow of the party to work best for you. It's all very customizable.

WHAT TIMES OF DAY ARE YOUR PARTIES?
We try to offer parties from 10am-12pm and either 1pm-3pm or 2pm-4pm on Saturdays and Sundays. When we have multiple parties or other events at the studio the set-up and take-down time can be big, so there needs to be a good cushion between them. Morning parties seem to work wonderfully for the energy levels of younger party guests.

DO YOU OFFER CUTE CUSTOM INVITATIONS?
Why, yes! Just click here. :-)

HOW DO I MAKE SURE MY PARTY GUESTS FIND REDWOOD RAKS?
Good question! It's sometimes tricky to find the studio for people not familiar with the building. Here's how I usually phrase it when giving directions:
Redwood Raks, 824 L Street, Arcata, in the Old Creamery Building. The studio is at the end of the courtyard off the parking lot, which you enter at the corner of 8th & L Streets.

WHAT HAPPENS AT ONE OF YOUR TWO HOUR PARTIES?
The Birthday Family usually arrives about 15 minutes before party time so the Birthday Child may check out the space and dress-up and/or get face painting done first, and food and other things can be loaded in. As guests arrive we have face painting, crafts, dress-up, balloons and exploring the space for the first 30 minutes or so. Then I lead some games / activities depending on the age / inclination of the party kids that often turns into dancing or movement activities and then free play. Usually then it's the 1 hour mark and everyone is ready for snacks, beverages then CAKE. With a good sugar high happening, we often turn on the party lights / mirrorball for some dancing and more movement games to burn that sugar off, leading into some more free-play time. In the last 30 minutes or so presents are often opened, sometimes I read stories or at least have some kind of circle time / cool-down with the kids so that they calm down a bit before changing into their regular selves, receiving their party favors & craft projects and head out to the rest of their days.

WHAT ARE THE PARTY FAVORS?
I make little bags for each child that coordinate with the theme. Depending on the theme and and ages of the children I'll often have "girl" and "boy" bags. I make extras of each, since there are certainly little girls who want the pirate favors and little boys who want the mermaid favors! Bags usually have stickers, sparkly pencils, themed coloring books I make and other little goodies (like fairy dust, flower or star wand, bubbles, toy car, slinky, hair flower, eye patch, mirrorball necklace, etc) depending on the theme. There are also crafts to take home if the children decided to make any.

CAN THERE BE MULTIPLE BIRTHDAY CHILDREN?
Yes! That's a great way to share a party in a big space and make it extra affordable. There can be as many Birthday Children as needed. I think the most I've done is a party for 3 children so far.

HOW GREEN ARE THE PARTIES?
I like to try to reduce party waste whenever I can. I have invested in nice table linens, reusable table settings (pretty teacups/saucers/plates for fairy & princess parties, cute BPA free fishy plates/cups for under the sea parties, and Preserve brand plates/cups for other party themes). Most party waste is food garbage and packaging from cakes and paper from presents.

ARE THE PARTIES ALWAYS SUPER STRUCTURED?
They sure can be, but I often like to leave the children to develop their own games and play in the space. There is lots to do there, and I'm always impressed by the things they come up with to do. Especially in parties for those under 5 years I like leave it pretty open and unstructured for their imaginations to run free. When it comes down to it, there's only about 25 minutes before / after snacks & cake where they can frolic freely and enjoy a bit of chaos. However, I love playing party games and some children (or often their parents) really thrive on more structure and organized play. That's fine, too, and we have lots of activities we can plan for sure. Children 6 and up seem to especially like the organized games and craft projects. If you have an idea of where you are on the gradient of "totalchaos" to "superstructure" we can definitely accomodate your preferences!

IS THE SPACE SET-UP ALWAYS THE SAME?
Nope! We design the room set-up differently every time based on other parties and special events at the studio that might be happening that weekend. I also know that many children have been to several parties at Redwood Raks (I know many of them by name!) and I like to mix it up so that they don't know what to expect each time. It's a custom party experience every time. Occasionally, we've had parties at New World Ballet or Arcata Playhouse and those have been super fun as well.

PRESENTS OR NO PRESENTS?
I'd say about 60% of the parties I've hosted have opened presents at the party. Some people say "yes, definitely we want to open presents at the party!" Some say "no, we've requested no presents" or "no, we'll open presents at home." Some say "maybe.... we'll see how it goes" and often in that case it's more child-driven. Sometimes there's a very natural place in the party where they really want to open presents and they pretty much go for it and sometimes they're having so much fun and there just isn't time and they don't even notice. Just let me know what your preferences are! :-)
If presents aren't going to be opened I like to plan on reading a story or doing a circle time or somehow bringing the children together to calm down a bit and create some closure before ending the party.

HOW MANY CHILDREN SHOULD WE INVITE?
Our parties are designed for 15 children with a maximum of 25 children (we can sometimes do 30+ depending on the theme). I know the rule of thumb is to have one more child than the age your child will be, but our space is great for bigger groups of kids.

IS IT OK IF PARENTS STAY?
Yes! The studio is big and there's lots of room for families to stay during the parties. We have plenty of chairs and places for grandparents or nursing mothers or antisocial older teenagers to find a quiet spot amongst the boisterous party atmosphere. For parties with guests under 5 years it seems that most parents plan to stay.

"KIDS PARTY" vs "FAMILY PARTY"
I call a party a Kids Party when a bunch of friends and/or classmates are the party guests. They are usually closer in age and my total focus is leading a super fun kids party. A Family Party is what I call it when there is perhaps a smaller number of kids, or a really wide range of ages because they're more family members and while I entertain the kids there might be more of a grown-up party happening simultaneously. Both types of parties are totally cool, but it's nice to know which one you're planning so I can set up the space just right.

HOW MUCH FOOD SHOULD WE BRING?
Always a good question. While I can't say for sure, here are some considerations:

• Time of the party
  Parties at 10am-12pm and 2pm-4pm seem to need less food, since it's between meals.
  If your party is 12pm-2pm or 11am-1pm you'll have hungrier party kids and defnitely parents.
• Party Theme
  People seem to get most excited about making special themed party food for the Under the Sea parties!
• Tea Party?
  For the Fairy or Princess parties we have a tea party, so it's fun to have little sandwiches, fruit and maybe cheeses to snack on with cold fruit tea or juice (or even water).
• Will the parents be staying? Is it a family party?
  If so, they'll probably want more food. If it's at 10am, the grown-ups are super excited with coffee!

CAKE OR CUPCAKES?
Either is great.... I have cupcake trees I can bring out for your party.

OH, NO! I FORGOT THE.......
I have lighters/matches, birthday candles, serving spoons, cake cutters, napkins, etc all ready to go. No worries!

IS THERE A REFRIGERATOR AT REDWOOD RAKS?
Sorry, at the moment we have no fridge or freezer. Please bring an ice chest for cold beverages and ice cream. Since we have a great wood floor, we appreciate a tarp or something to put underneath your cooler.

ARE THERE OUTLETS?
Yes! We have plenty of outlets for your hot plates, crock pots, coffee makers, etc. We have lots of extension cords, too.

DO YOU DO GROWN-UP PARTIES TOO?
Yes! I love to do themed parties for grown-ups and teens. Talk to me about your ideas and we can create the splendid affair of your dreams. Bachelorette parties, birthday parties, baby showers, bridal showers, ladies night out parties...............