A husband and wife duo from Dover are launching a brand new play centre for children with dreams of bringing the community closer together. Dominic and Jodie Morris are nearing the final stages of their passion project Toddlerville, a role-playing centre for children up to the age of six in Market Square where playing and learning join hand in hand.
Parents to two kids of their own, three-year-old Willow and seven-month-old Franklin, the couple were inspired to create a family oriented space after noticing a need for more child-friendly days out in Dover. Speaking to KentLive, Jodie said: "We went to some role-play centre ourselves, there's a couple locally in Thanet and Ashford.
"We took Willow to those and she loved it. We just thought Dover could really benefit from this as it's definitely lacking in things to do with the little ones. So we said "let's do it" and started putting together our business plan, working out if we could actually make it a reality, and now we're a year down the line and almost open, we're so close now."
Willow has played a role in the development of Toddlerville in more ways than one. The logo for the centre is directly inspired by Willow, who her parents say has "a vivid imagination and loves all things role-play."
Though an exact opening date is yet to be set, Jodie and Dominic are hoping to welcome families from mid-March if all goes to plan. Once doors open, Toddlerville will feature a range of different themed areas for kids to play and pretend, including a supermarket, vets, nursery and gym, all shrunk down to child-size.
Jodie continued: "Although soft play and parks are great and physical, role-play aids a different part of a child's learning. They can build relationships with other children and learn life skills.
"For example with the supermarket, you can teach them about using money, taking a shopping list and finding items. So, not only is it play and imagination, it's learning as well. It's really the perfect example of learning through play."
There will be a café where parents can enjoy a hot drink and a snack, including fresh bakes and sweet treats, with the exact menu currently being ironed out. During the early stages, all visitors will need to book a ticket in advance and the centre will operate with a maximum of 40 guests at a time.
"We want to create a safe and happy space where parents and carers can bring children to play," Jodie added. "Somewhere families can go, no matter if it's sunny or raining, and just have some fun.
"For us, there's been such a massive build up and it's been a long process, so the fact we're at the point now where we're nearly ready to open after all this time, as a family, it's a real achievement. We're not a massive company made up of hundreds and hundreds of people, this has been real blood sweat and tears for my husband and myself.
"We've got so many friends and family in the area with young children so it will just be so special to be able to open something that really caters to them. We really hope that it's going to be a proper family community hub, with regulars that we can be really familiar with and it'll just be a real beneficial addition to the area."
Toddlerville will offer three different party packages for birthdays and celebrations, which the pair hope will cater to all needs and budgets. These range from non-exclusive hire events with reserved tables to full private hire complete with a buffet and unique theming.
Down the line, Jodie and Dominic hope to host engaging seasonal events at Toddlerville, with ambitions of a Santa's Grotto at Christmas, character days in the summer and craft days during school breaks. With the opening seemingly right around the corner, excitement and support for the centre is only growing stronger.
Jodie said: "We've had some really encouraging and personal messages to us about how excited people are for it and wanting to come down and support us. When you do something like this and take a leap, and it's on such a personal level where we've invested so much of ourselves into it, to get that immediate support is just amazing.
"Even when it's getting hard, you can look at those messages and think 'this is going to be good, it's going to work and we can make this a reality'. So hopefully people do love it." Toddlerville will be found at 21 Market Square, CT16 1NH.
Full pricing details are being finalised, but Jodie said the pair aim to keep tickets "as affordable as possible." A website for Toddlerville is due to go live very soon, while Jodie and Dominic share regular updates on the progress of the centre to the dedicated Facebook page, which has already amassed nearly 1,000 likes.
Find out more about things to do in Kent with our free What's On email HERE.