Parade of Playhouses To Take Place At Lynchburg City Stadium April 26

The second annual Parade of Playhouses will be taking place April 26 from 1-4 p.m. at Lynchburg City Stadium. This fundraising event is hosted by Rush Homes in congruence with its mission to create affordable housing for individuals with disabilities and/or low incomes.  

The playhouses featured for sale at the event are usually built by sponsors. Liberty University is participating this year as a sponsor, but a unique twist was added to the building of the playhouse: students were allowed to design it. What started as a simple project for an interior design class ended up giving students the chance to put their knowledge into practice by applying it in the real world. 

Liberty’s pre-construction project manager, Jinhee Kim, reached out to Family & Consumer Science professor, Maria Garcia, about the opportunity last semester. Kim said she remembered wanting real-world experience when she was an interior design student at Liberty.  

“When I was presented with this project and we began discussing student involvement, my first thought was to offer this opportunity to the interior design students,” Kim said. “In my mind, this was the perfect project for them, as the foundation and scope of the project reflected everything I learned during my time in undergrad.” 

Garcia then went on to incorporate this unique project into her class.  

“I put the students in groups and they each designed a playhouse design, and that went up for voting for the whole student body,” Garcia said. “I’m glad Liberty and Design and Renovations thought of us to do it. This was such a great opportunity to showcase the things that the students are learning and their abilities, potential and creativity.” 

The playhouses designed in the class were put up for a vote in March, and the whole student body was given the opportunity to participate. A mass email was sent out to the university to showcase the mockups and allow students to cast virtual ballots for their favorite.  

The winning design was created by interior design students junior Taylor Garran and seniors Sydney Bohlmann and Gabriella Pace.  

“I wasn’t expecting to win, I … did it for the experience of doing something as cool as this. And when I got the email, I was like ‘Wow!’” Garran said.  

After multiple rounds of sketching and programming to model and refine the design, the group settled on a playhouse inspired by Rapunzel’s tower in “Tangled,” complying with the event’s theme of children’s literature.  

“They couldn’t do it exactly how we designed it because there’s practicality in building it, so they changed it a little bit,” Pace said. “But seeing how most of it stayed the same and also how they added little pieces like putting lights on the inside of it … that was really cool.”  

Not only did the students get to see their design come to life, but they also said they learned how to overcome professional challenges that they may encounter outside of college.  

“I think it helped us to learn how to manage a long ongoing project, and I think to learn how to work with other people and how sometimes you have to compromise in certain areas, but ultimately it’s going to be worth it in the end if you design it well,” Bohlmann said.  

The playhouse designed by Garran, Bohlmann and Pace will be featured at the Parade of Playhouses and auctioned off as a part of the event put on by Rush Homes. Kim, Garcia and the winning students all believe that Rush Homes is a cause worthy of support, and that the houses purchased will benefit the organization’s mission in impactful ways.  

“(Rush Homes) gives back to the community that we’re a part of. It helps support local infrastructure and families in need. I think that’s a really good thing,” Bohlmann said.  

Kim said that she’s thankful Liberty could be a part of the Parade of Playhouses because Rush Home’s goal of serving those in need aligns well with the university’s values, and shows that Liberty students are eager to impact the Lynchburg community in positive ways.  

Tickets for the Parade of Playhouses can be purchased on Rush Home’s website, Rushhomes.org/parade-of-playhouses-2025. 

Mullet is a staff writer for the Liberty Champion.