Things to Do in Chicopee

Fun Time Lanes sends patrons back in time for candlestick bowling sessions that predate traditional tenpin rounds. After fitting feet into rental shoes, participants launch 3- to 6-pound balls down one of 20 polished lanes toward huddled masses of slim pins. Automatic scoring, ball returns, and cash prizes to pins that fall the fastest keep frames moving swiftly along. Glow bowl sessions awash vintage orbs and lanes in radiant neon hues every Saturday night during atomic bowl. During breaks, customers can stop fantasizing about marinating a duckpin and instead recharge at Fun Time Lanes' snack bar with bites of burgers, hot dogs, or chicken tenders.

At Second Wind Yoga, students unroll their mats in a carpeted studio lit by soft lamps. Instructors walk them step by step through the poses and breath work of various styles, including Hatha, Vinyasa, and gentle yoga. They also offer chair yoga and hot yoga, whose high temperatures induce sweating to help flush out bodily toxins.

Specializing in Latin and ballroom dancing, Fred Astaire Dance Studio is a national studio owned by luminaries such as New York's Yuriy and Alexandra Datsyk, 1993 Ukrainian Ballroom Dance Champions and Ukraine's representatives to the World Standard Championships. No matter how busy your schedule or how leaden your feet, Fred Astaire’s staff of professionally trained and certified instructors can tailor private sessions to match any dancer's skill level and specific goals. Private introductory lessons ($39 for one class) last 45 minutes and acquaint students with the studio's spacious dancing environment before teaching the basics of ballroom dance. Following the conclusion of your second private session, you'll be ready for a 90-minute, Friday-night dance party ($35 value), where you'll get to sip free drinks and munch on hors d'oeuvres while tripping the light fantastic with fellow students—without clumsily tripping on the light itself.

The consortium of professional instructors at Fred Astaire Dance Studios, which was cofounded by the legendary toe tapper himself, shepherds students of all ages and skill levels through lessons that span the style spectrum. Low-pressure private sessions allow enthusiastic teachers to fine-tune individual students' techniques and form, using their expert eyes and mechanical dancing shoes preprogrammed to do the cha-cha. Patrons can learn how to cavort through classic waltz and fox-trot romps or swivel through the modern steps of salsa, swing, or samba. For dancers hoping to hoof it up in a social setting, the group practice parties provide a one-night extravaganza of instruction, demonstrations, and amateur firewalking.

Recently appointed as the World Scholar-Athlete Games' 2011 Deputy Commissioner of Equestrian Activities by the Institute for International Sport, professional horsewoman Holly Thompson lends riders and their maned compatriots a wealth of stallion savvy on Equine Boulevard's sprawling 16-acre estate. Thompson and her staff provide a hay-scented potpourri of services, including riding lessons, training, equine appraisals, and witty narrations of The Lone Ranger screenplays. Equine Boulevard's facilities shelter four-legged clients in a barn replete with 12 climate-controlled stalls before hooves boisterously navigate indoor arenas, outdoor riding rings, and picturesque trails leading into nearby state forests.

Quiet is the first stop on the road to inner peace, according to Ramona Crabtree-Falkner, owner of Ananda Center for Yoga and Massage, LLC. At her tranquil studio, clients engage in active modes of relaxation such as yoga and passive forms such as massage therapy and reiki. During private and group yoga instruction, students venture inward by pairing deep breathing and meditation with ancient poses that stretch and strengthen the body. One-on-one sessions propel yogis toward specific goals such as weight loss and injury recovery, and group classes build community while releasing recently acquired stress and eye rolls stored up since high school. Bodywork services spotlight therapies from around the world, including the long, gliding strokes of Swedish massage and the stretches and acupressure of Thai foot reflexology.