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Tumbling instructor Rebecca Bennett helps Hayden Bogges, 7, with a skill during Saturday’s grand opening of the PATH Recreation & Fitness Center in Culpeper. Bennett is a police officer with the town of Culpeper
Culpeper Pickleball members enjoy casual play Saturday at the PATH Center near DMV’s Culpeper office.
PATH to Music program assistant Vienna Lindsay plays a tambourine while teaching kids in an activity room.
Balloons and a welcome sign greet people at the PATH Fitness Center, which held its grand opening Friday and Saturday, offering many free activities.
Instructor Rebecca Bennett works with (from left) Melanie Loayza, 8, Hayden Bogges, 7, and Valentina Reyes, 6, on how to do a cartwheel during a tumbling class Saturday at the PATH Fitness Center.
Kids’ Corner attendant Lexi Coppage greets a visitor during the new facility’s grand opening on Saturday.
PATH Center attendant Vickie Updike greets a visitor Saturday in the fitness section of the facility, which has been open since March.
Natalie Deal visits the PATH Recreation & Fitness Center with daughters Natalie, 10, and Reagan, almost 8.
Lauren Owens (left) of Remington brings her son Raylan, 7, to the PATH Fitness Center for Saturday’s tumbling class.
Culpeper Wellness Foundation President Shari Landry (left) poses with PATH Recreation & Fitness Center Director Tracie Massey on Saturday.
Hundreds of local residents gathered Friday and Saturday at PATH Recreation & Fitness Center to check out Culpeper’s new facility during its official grand opening.
“We have been absolutely thrilled with the number of people who have come out,” Tracie Massey, the center’s director, told the Culpeper Star-Exponent on Saturday morning. “Our current members are loving their new home, and we’ve had a lot of new folks coming in to check it all out.”
Operated by Culpeper Wellness Foundation, Culpeper’s newest recreation facility helps fulfill the local nonprofit’s goal to “improve health and promote wellness in Culpeper, Madison and Orange counties.”
Massey stressed that people don’t have to be a member to use the new center, which is across the street from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles’ Culpeper office. The center is located at 19002 Crossroad Parkway, just off U.S. 29.
“Anyone can come in and participate for a nominal fee,” she said. “And we have various scholarships and programs for people who might need help.”
Lauren Owens was at the center Saturday with her 7-year-old son Raylan for a tumbling class.
“There’s nothing like this in Remington, where we live,” Owens said. “We have to either go to Warrenton or Culpeper.”
Raylan said he likes the challenges posed by his tumbling class.
“I like doing everything,” he said. “The people are nice.”
Owens is not a member of the facility, but was interested in looking around during its grand opening.
“I don’t think we’ll join, but I’m glad to be able to participate in some of the classes for kids,” she said.
Sarah Deal, a teacher with Culpeper County Public Schools’ Phoenix Alternative Education Services, said she hopes the new recreation center will benefit her students.
“I think they might work with us to help create special programs that could teach coping skills and positive emotional and physical outlets for these kids,” Deal said.
Of her own fitness, she said the center’s employees are supportive and encourage trying new things.
Deal has been a member for the past three years, working out previously at Culpeper Sport & Fitness, which closed in March as the fitness center at PATH replaced it.
“They have super-friendly staff and great trainers that often will give helpful suggestions and give me the confidence I need to expand what I try,” she said.
Deal had her two daughters, Natalie, age 10, and Reagan, 7, with her at the grand opening.
“I like it,” Natalie said of the facility. “There are a lot of cool new things, like golf.”
The three tried out a high-tech golf simulator, which in addition to golf offers bowling, disc golfing, hockey, baseball and more. People can sign up to use the simulator as a group, or get individual instruction in the different sports.
The new facility measures 27,000 square feet, with two full-size multisport courts lined for basketball, volleyball and pickleball, plus batting cages, and activity rooms that can be rented out for parties or classes.
The center’s fitness area opened in March, providing members with cardio and strength-training equipment, group fitness classes and personal and small-group training.
“People have been coming in who had no idea it was being built, and are just blown away,” Culpeper Wellness Foundation President Shari Landry said.
Landry said the foundation’s board voted to move ahead with the new facility in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The board members showed foresight and courage in investing in the Culpeper community for generations to come.
“They took a huge leap with this,” she said. “But this has been something the community has needed for a long time, and it is taking off.”
Donors paid for one quarter of the $6 million-plus project, contributing $1.5 million in donations, Landry said.
The PATH Foundation of Warrenton pledged a half-million dollars to help build the facility off Lovers Lane. The center is named for the PATH Foundation.
Noting that the county is building a recreation center at the Culpeper Sports Complex beside Eastern View High School, Massey said she hopes to work with its organizers to provide complementary programming.
“There’s plenty of demand for all of us,” she said. “We hope to avoid competition and instead focus on the strengths of each facility to provide what the community needs.”
During the grand opening, visitors enjoyed free activities, classes, giveaways and special offers, and could enter a drawing for a free, one-year membership.
“If you missed the grand opening, please stop by and we’ll be happy to take you on a tour,” Massey said. “We’re so excited to share this great fitness place with everyone in the area.”
emilyojennings@gmail.com
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Editor
The Culpeper Star-Exponent’s editor since 2018, I’ve enjoyed working as a journalist for more than two decades, writing and editing for newspapers in Virginia, Illinois and Utah.
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Tumbling instructor Rebecca Bennett helps Hayden Bogges, 7, with a skill during Saturday’s grand opening of the PATH Recreation & Fitness Center in Culpeper. Bennett is a police officer with the town of Culpeper
Culpeper Pickleball members enjoy casual play Saturday at the PATH Center near DMV’s Culpeper office.
PATH to Music program assistant Vienna Lindsay plays a tambourine while teaching kids in an activity room.
Balloons and a welcome sign greet people at the PATH Fitness Center, which held its grand opening Friday and Saturday, offering many free activities.
Instructor Rebecca Bennett works with (from left) Melanie Loayza, 8, Hayden Bogges, 7, and Valentina Reyes, 6, on how to do a cartwheel during a tumbling class Saturday at the PATH Fitness Center.
Kids’ Corner attendant Lexi Coppage greets a visitor during the new facility’s grand opening on Saturday.
PATH Center attendant Vickie Updike greets a visitor Saturday in the fitness section of the facility, which has been open since March.
Natalie Deal visits the PATH Recreation & Fitness Center with daughters Natalie, 10, and Reagan, almost 8.
Lauren Owens (left) of Remington brings her son Raylan, 7, to the PATH Fitness Center for Saturday’s tumbling class.
Culpeper Wellness Foundation President Shari Landry (left) poses with PATH Recreation & Fitness Center Director Tracie Massey on Saturday.
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