EVENTS

Inflatable water park coming to Salt River Fields, 8/7-8

Bob Young
The Republic | azcentral.com
The drop-kick slide is one of the water slides that will be part of Slide Across America on  Aug. 7-8 at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick.

A Surprise-based inflatables company and Salt River Fields at Talking Stick hope to make a splash Aug. 7-8 with Slide Across America, which they’re billing as the largest inflatable water park in the country.

The event will feature more than 50 attractions spread out over two soccer fields, including two water slides that have drops of 40 feet or more, 25 other water slides, a zip line, trackless train ride, a rock-climbing wall and trampolines.

There also will be music, food trucks and a beer garden.

“It’s not an obstacle course. It’s more like a festival,” said Tamara Hayes, business-development manager for Az Bounce Pro. “You can get onto any one of the attractions, like an amusement park.”

She said there will be a height restriction on the larger rides, which are geared more toward adults and teenagers.

The zip line is 45 feet high and runs 300 feet.

“It’s the length of a football field, so we definitely have attractions for adults who are kids at heart,” Hayes said.

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There will be a separate area for actual kids, too. Children must be shorter than 48 inches to enter that area. The water slides in the kids area will begin at about 10 feet in height for toddlers and go no higher than 19 feet.

“We want them to slide safely and not worry about big kids,” Hayes said. “But parents are welcome to slide down with their kids.”

Az Bounce Pro typically rents inflatables to individuals and events, but the company and officials at Salt River Fields decided to explore the possibility of putting a whole lot of them to use in one big event.

A smaller event was staged in Prescott, and Hayes said the company may take the show to other cities around the Southwest.

About half the water will be provided by Salt River Fields and the other half will be trucked to the event, she said.

“It’s potable water, and it won’t be recirculated,” she said. “They are set up with a trickle system that uses about the same amount of water per hour as a shower would. We won’t be using a ton of water.”

Details: 4-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Aug. 7-8. Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, Loop 101 and Indian Bend Road, Salt River Reservation. $10-$20. saltriverfields.com/Events.aspx.