Friday nights are getting a lot more fun for some northwest-side children.
At the end of last summer, Saguaro Aquatics, 2045 W. Omar Drive, tested a new "Kids Night Out" program on Friday nights.
It made quite a splash, so the company - known for swimming lessons and swim teams - brought it back this summer.
Swimming is part of what is offered, said school co-owner Marydale Moore, but each Friday evening is also based on a different theme and includes a craft, movie and dinner.
Last Friday, representatives from the Reid Park Zoo took small animals to the school for an animal encounter to begin the evening.
Krista Sevinsky, 7, has gone to "pretty much every single one" - having only missed two Fridays, she said.
"They have a craft time, and I really like that time because you get to make stuff, and after that there's a movie time," she said.
People are also reading…
Maybe the best part?
The deep end is 12 feet deep.
The plan is for children to use up some energy before their parents pick them up, Moore said.
"Because it's four hours, it's a nice length of time for a date" for the parents, she said.
And the swim school's proximity to Foothills Mall - it's just south of West Ina Road, off North La Cholla Boulevard, and the mall is at Ina and La Cholla - makes it easy for parents to catch a movie or grab a bite to eat there, she said.
Kim Esposito has four children, two of whom have attended several Kids Night Out sessions.
Grant, 8, and Carson, 7, look forward to Fridays all week, she said.
Recently, the school had a pirate theme night, and during a treasure hunt Carson was the lucky one who found the X that marked the spot for the treasure.
For several days after that when Esposito took him to swimming lessons, she said, Carson would lead her around the grounds, showing her where various clues had been hidden, and finally where he found the X.
"It's more than just a swim instruction," Esposito said. "It's a fun, safe place."
From her parental point of view, she likes the price - $15 before noon the Friday of the program or $20 after that.
"In terms of what they receive for the cost, it's a really great value," she said. "Many other similar parent-night-out programs do not provide dinner. The overall value is very good."
Sometimes she and her husband will take the other two children - ages 3 and 11, a little outside the average age of kids who attend Kids Night Out - out to eat. Sometimes, they just go home and get things done around the house.
"I don't want to say it's like farming your kids out, but you know they're in a safe environment and having a good time," Esposito said.
Krista Sevinsky doesn't think four hours is long enough.
"There's movies, and they feed the kids so the parents don't have to feed them," she said. "I wish I could stay longer. It's so much fun."
Contact reporter Shelley Shelton at sshelton@azstarnet.com or 807-8464.
