FuncTion Meets FasHion
Gifts She’ll Love All Winter Long!
Queen of Fun « p.41
Knits by Wooden ships, Vfrass, Handcandy & more! discount cod e: d ec 2
0
20% off *
* excludes Barefoot Dreams products
1 item w ith this exp. 12/2 ad! 1
199 College Street, Burlington 862-0707 • www.HydrangeaToo.com
12h-hydrangea120512.indd 1 Transfer sTudenT experience
12/3/12 3:01 PM
“Magic happens in the classroom!” —Shannon Partrick Transfer Student Individualized Major
Join us for our spring 2013 semester!
burlingTon.edu/Transfer | 800-862-9616 12h-BurlCollege112812.indd 1
11/27/12 5:09 PM
L O C A L LY, FA M I LY - OW N E D & O P E R AT E D
ORDER
Gift Certificates
ONLI NE! SEVENDAYSVt.com
VTOasisDaySpa.com AN OASIS FOR YOUR MIND, BODY & SOUL
Experience a true day spa.
How could Reeves get her daughters back to Vermont — without dashing their gymnastic aspirations? By then, Regal had outgrown its space, and Reeves started searching for land to build a new facility. Knowing exactly what she wanted, she sat down with an architect, and within an hour they had sketched out her entire plan. It included the stone castle, a play village, a state-of-the-art preschool with science center, the bistro and many other amenities. “If it was going to be ‘Regal,’ it had to be really regal,” Reeves says, “from the crystal chandeliers and fireplaces in the birthday rooms to going out and getting the best possible coach.” The result is the new, 10,000-plus square-foot gym in Essex. The fivestar energy-rated building has 12 skylights with GPS tracking devices that rotate to capture sunlight. Reeves won’t reveal how much the entire facility cost, except to say that she and her husband “pretty much sold everything we own before a bank would even look at us.” That included the couple’s 8000 square-foot mansion in Connecticut. The preschool is licensed for 30 kids, but Reeves won’t accept more than 24 to “maintain the experience.” Every child studies at least one foreign language, be it French, Spanish or Japanese, and all the food is local and organic. Reeves plans to install an indoor video camera so parents can watch their children via the internet using a password-protected access code. “I believe in my program so much that I have no problem ... having a camera in the corner that lets parents access their children during the day,” she says.
On weekends, Regal now hosts as many as 10 two-hour birthday parties, providing parents with a one-price party package that includes “everything but the cake”: goodie bags, art projects, organic juices, coffee for the parents, full run of the kid village and, of course, plenty of gymnastics. “Where else can you have a party in a real stone castle?” Reeves asks rhetorically. The centerpiece of the birthday area is as lavish as it gets. And there’s nary a paper napkin or plate in sight. Isn’t she worried about kids breaking her dishes? “Eh, who cares?” she says, with a shrug. The royal treatment doesn’t come cheap: A two-hour party costs $300 for eight kids and $10 for each additional child. In September, Meghan Stockamore of Colchester spent $380 on a Regal birthday party for her 7-year-old daughter, Avery. The mother of two said it was a bit more “programmed” than Avery’s previous birthday parties at the former, more “free-for-all” Regal gym in Winooski. But she didn’t regret the investment. “The kids seemed to enjoy it,” says Stockamore. It’s “a great facility, so I’ll give them props.” Adults who bring kids to Regal’s classes seem to share that sentiment; the gym offers classes for both children and adults, ranging from beginner hip-hop to ballroom dancing. On a recent November morning, Kathy Swigon is seated in Regal’s bistro — her granddaughter, Sabena Dymond, 3, of Milton, is gobbling down a bran muffin before her tumble class. “Oh, it’s a wonderful place. Sabena totally enjoys it here,” says Swigon, who drives in from Plainfield once a week to bring her granddaughter to the gym. “She
The parTy area feaTures a sTone casTle made from five Tons of vermonT-quarried graniTe and a $1200 hand-carved mahogany throne.
• Body Treatments • Facials • Full Service Salon
• • • •
Hydrotherapy Soft Pack Float Make Up Manicures
• • • •
Pedicures Massage Reflexology Spa Packages
SEVEN DAYS
12.05.12-12.12.12
... and don’t forget the men in your life! Visit The Men’s Salon.
42 FEATURE
802.879.9499 • VTOasisDaySpa.com Monday 9-4, Tuesday - Saturday 8:30-7
Extended hours: 12/23 10-4 & 12/24 9-3 for gift certificate purchases 3v-OasisDaySpa091212-Mock-2.indd 1
11/26/12 2:09 PM
Balance-beam coach Rebecca Belrose helps gymasts with their moves
FilE: mATThEw ThoRsEn
300 Conerstone Drive, #220 • Williston • VT