Wilton’s Rise Up! Center is growing in momentum, said owner Nicole Colvin-Griffin, but she still hopes to see more young people filing the space.

Opened a few months ago, the center has acted as a community space for various classes – yoga, kenpo martial arts, pilates, belly dancing and more, even becoming the permanent studio space for some local teachers. 

“There’s a lot happening and a lot of new interest in classes,” said Colvin-Griffin. “We are growing.”

And though adults and children alike are using the space – teenagers and children joining in on a weekly sewing and African drumming classes, monthly dance parties and kenpo having a youth course, and children’s activities provided for adults who come to classes with their children in tow – Colvin-Griffin said she’d like to offer more opportunities for children.

When she first envisioned the center, a big piece of it was the potential for an after-school program, said Colvin-Griffin.

It’s a service that’s lacking in town, with many students traveling to the Milford Boys and Girls Club instead.

However, said Colvin-Griffin, there wasn’t enough interest to get an after-school program off the ground. So, she said, she’s decided to narrow her focus, and offer a once-a-week after-school art club.

Colvin-Griffin said eventually she’d like to expand the art club into other activities for other days of the week, but for now, will go with where the demand is, she said. 

The after school art club will begin Jan. 25 from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. The cost is $15 per week. There will be weekly projects, as well as the availability for children to work on their own ideas or to have quiet homework time.