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BRATTLEBORO -- When members of the KidsPLAYce team saw how successful their ice cream stand was last summer, they decided to bring the idea back, permanently.

"We're geared up and ready to go as soon as the weather turns nice," said Tim Ellis, director of KidsPLAYce.

The initial test runs were made last spring and into the summer before officials decided to have the parlor open for an extended period of time, he said.

The ice cream center within the children's space will provide nine flavors from locally made Chelsea Royal Ice Cream and a variety of toppings to go along with snacks and drinks that will also be served. Ellis said they expect to increase to 15 flavors and offer a greater assortment of goodies.

While officials have not figured out the times they will be open during the upcoming months, members note they are planning to remain open during early evening hours.

"It's exciting (that) we're going to be re-open for summer hours," said Anna Moore Odell, board member with the group. The ice cream is not just for the children, she said, it is for all ages if people are interested in stopping by.

Located in Brattleboro underneath the Hotel

Pharmacy since 1994, KidsPLAYce is a nonprofit space for children to come together and play on an assortment of climbing structures, create a masterpiece with their arts and crafts supplies or cuddle up with a good book. The center also features several live animals for children to learn about, including fish, lizards and a python.

"It's a place in the community where people with young children can hang out and play," said Moore Odell, who has served on the board for the past three years.

The space can also be rented for a youngster's birthday party or other similar events, she added.

"Once you have a kid's birthday party there, you'll always want to have one there," said Ellis.

Other than dishing out dairy treats to residents, the ice cream shop will also serve as a dropoff location for people to recycle plastic yogurt containers.

Working with TerraCycle, a New Jersey-based company that makes products from reused materials, KidsPLAYce officials hope to raise funding by collecting the containers and shipping them to the company for a five cents refund for larger containers and two cents for smaller ones.

"That's a new project we just started," said Ellis.

TerraCycle gathers the recycled containers and hires artists to paint individual pieces on them with environmentally friendly supplies, then fills them with potting soil and sells the product to garden sections of hardware shops. The recycled containers are known as "YoGro" planting pots.

After reading a previous article about the company in the Reformer, Moore Odell said KidsPLAYce seemed like the perfect location for a TerraCycle recycle box.

Having the box will allow the space to raise money by collecting the containers, she said.

In addition to the ice cream parlor, KidsPLAYce has recently taken the initiative to reach out into the community and continues to get involved in more local activities and programs.

"It's harder and harder to keep a nonprofit growing," said Ellis.

"We're trying a lot of new stuff to stay afloat," said Moore Odell, noting the space has recently become part of the Gallery Walk in downtown.

While the illustrations of local artist John Steven Gurney are currently on display in the play space, Ellis said he hopes to have a professional illustrator gallery along with artwork from local schools.

Chris Garofolo can be reached at cgarofolo@reformer.com or 802-254-2311 ext. 275.