By CORY FRANCER
Union Leader Correspondent

HOOKSETT — Kelly Pearson says she and her husband, Matthew, have always come up with crazy business ideas, but now they are actually bringing one to Hooksett.

Cowabunga’s will open next to Shaw’s at the beginning of November and is being called New Hampshire’s Largest Inflatable Playground.

The Pearsons, of Pembroke, are parents of two boys, ages 3 and 1, and were inspired to create a giant inflatable haven for kids and adults after attending a birthday party with a bouncy house. After that day, it’s been a two-year process leading up to what Kelly Pearson says is her dream job.

But Cowabunga’s isn’t just an indoor bouncy house. The place will be jam-packed with activities including an inflatable racetrack with tricycles, an inflatable wrestling ring, and inflatable basketball. In addition to bouncing activities, there will also be air hockey tables and other non-aerial activities.

“We wanted to create a place that draws in all ages,” Pearson said. “It’s a place where everyone can play and have fun and parents wouldn’t feel weird joining in.”

To make sure everyone in the community was included, the Pearsons created a Facebook page and asked for suggestions to make Cowabunga’s as much of a community resource as possible. Some feedback included offering Zumba classes, ladies’ nights out, after-prom parties, and fundraising events.

“We want to help the community and bring people in,” Pearson said. “We’ve learned inflatables draw in all ages.”

In addition to community feedback, Cowabunga’s has received support from other locally owned businesses in Hooksett and in Concord. Since Pearson is a graduate of Concord High School and the University of New Hampshire, she said she understands how important local business is to the Granite State.

She said she was able to get together some fixtures from stores in the area that are in the midst of renovations and found that vendors are generally willing to negotiate with locally owned businesses to bring prices down. A huge help came from Big Jim’s Home Center Bargain Outlet in Concord, which helped with 10,000 square feet of hard surface flooring.

Because it is such a new venture for the Pearsons, they contacted and researched similar inflatable playgrounds around the country. After conducting their research, it was decided to purchase completely customized equipment to make Cowabunga’s a truly one of a kind experience.

“A couple vendors we are working with let you pick out what you like as far as colors and other details,” Kelly Pearson said. “We researched other places in the U.S. and had some mentors along the way.”

To keep Cowabunga’s accessible to all ages, the Pearsons had to make sure everything from the name to the color scheme would appeal to the entire community. Kelly Pearson said coming up with a name for her new business was almost as hard as naming a child. At one point she said there were huge lists strewn about with names crossed off.

“We wanted teenagers to be able to say it,” she said. “It kind of gives it a surf theme. We also made the colors bright and fun, but not too childish.”

Though Cowabunga’s opening is just weeks away, Pearson said she is most excited for the first birthday her new business will host. As Hooksett’s newest community gathering place, she said she can’t wait for the fun to begin.

“I’m really looking forward to our first birthday party,” she said. “I can’t wait to see the look on the kids’ faces when they see it for the first time.”