Paragon employees volunteered their time and resources to create a
spectacular fall festival and haunted house for Chase. He arrived at
Paragon’s Fountain Place location believing he had simply been invited
to a Halloween party, and walked into the building to find that the
party was actually for him!
The first stop on
Chase’s wish party was face painting, followed by a stop at The Chase
Café, where he and his family were invited to enjoy fall festival fare
including candy apples, hot dogs, popcorn, and “dirt” cake. Next Chase
and his two brothers moved on to Bobbing for Donuts, where donuts were
hanging by strings and each boy had to attempt to eat the donut using
only their mouths. Although it was difficult, Chase emerged
victorious, winning his first prize…an Alvin & The Chipmunks DVD!
Next,
he moved on to the Harvest Toss, where he and his brothers were
encouraged to throw beanbags through a small hole. Chase proved very
adept at the Harvest Toss, and his winning toss earned him a visit from
Rockey the Redbird, the mascot for his favorite team, The Memphis
Redbirds! Rockey presented him with a gift bag full of goodies,
courtesy of The Memphis Redbirds, before posing for photos with the
family.
After the Harvest Toss, Chase and his
brothers were chased by “zombies” and with no other escape, they had to
run to the haunted house, where they were greeted by a table full of
“body parts,” including eyeballs, brains, guts, and a monster head.
Then they were terrified and thrilled by the other horrors of the
spectacular haunted house, but they finally made it out and were guided
back to Paragon’s lobby, where Chase saw Minnie Mouse wandering
around. Banners were released saying that Chase had been granted his
wish to go to Disneyworld! He was given several gifts including more
DVDs, a personal DVD player and case, a book, and a journal. Before
Chase and his family said goodbye, Rockey the Redbird treated everyone
to an impromptu dance to the Michael Jackson classic, “Thriller.”
“Being
a part of such a huge moment in a child’s life is immeasurably precious
to us,” Robert Shaw, Paragon’s President and CEO said. “We’ve helped
grant a wish for a deserving child every year since our opening and
it’s always so rewarding.” Paragon plans to continue the tradition of a
wish-granting each fall and other partnership opportunities with
Make-A-Wish throughout the year.