An Overland Park couple will no longer host their iteration of the popular Paulie’s Penguin Playground holiday inflatable display for charity following pushback from neighbors.
Joshua and Faith Owens, who rent a home in a cul-de-sac near 123rd and Antioch Road, had planned to take over the display from an Olathe family who had hosted it for years.
But now they say they have decided to cancel the display.
“We unfortunately won’t be able to go about doing it at our home this year,” Faith Owens said in a text message Tuesday.
Paulie’s Penguin Playground is a JoCo holiday mainstay
Previously, Paul and Cindy Craig had put up more than 150 inflatable holiday characters and figures at their Olathe home.
It became a popular attraction, drawing hundreds of visitors each year.
After a 20-year-run, the Craigs announced last year that they’d stop hosting the display.
Over the years, they raised thousands of dollars for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through donations from visitors who came to gawk and wander around the Craigs’ property.
Earlier this week, the Paulie’s Penguin Playground Facebook page announced that the Owenses were the new organizers for the event, and shared their address near
They had also planned to partner with Salvation Army, Juris Law and Mediation and Injury Law to host a drive-thru Penguin Parade fundraiser in December to benefit the Olathe Salvation Army, Faith Owens told the Post on Monday.
“We are hoping to help as many families as possible this year,” she had said in a text message before the display was quashed.
The Owenses faced pushback from their neighbors
A representative from a firm that manages the local homeowners’ association overseeing the Owneses’ neighborhood did confirm that complaints were submitted about a holiday display at a home in the neighborhood but wouldn’t say how many.
Additionally, the Owenses said their landlord opposed the display going forward.
Faith Owens also shared communication with the Post that was sent to the landlord from the HOA in regards to their display.
It threatened a $200 fine if the display persisted past 5 p.m. on Tuesday, plus an additional fine of $50 per day after that deadline. She said they would have “gladly” paid the fines.
The city of Overland Park had also fielded some complaints about the display, but city Communications Manager Meg Ralph said in an emailed statement that the city “does not regulate private holiday displays on private property.”
Ralph said the city was “closely monitoring the traffic situation” and would “take action should any issues arise regarding traffic safety.”
Faith Owens said it’s “heartbreaking” the event cannot go forward and that neighbors opposed it.
She told the Post she feels other HOA rule violations in the neighborhood have gone unaddressed and called her neighbors “selfish.”
What happens now?
- For now, the Paulie’s Penguin Playground holiday display is canceled this year.
- And the Owenses say they’re also looking to find a new place to live, citing past conflict with neighbors.
- In a Facebook comment on the Paulie’s Penguin Playground page, Joshua Owens signaled plans to possibly do the holiday display somewhere in Olathe this year “for a weekend or two.”
- The details of that are unclear at this time.
Looking back: Paulie’s Penguin Playground in Olathe to end 20-year run
