SOUTH DEERFIELD — There are two sides to a story coming out of Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory & Gardens.
A chaperone for children enrolled in a Springfield school’s summer program took to social media last week to vent about an unpleasant experience at the South Deerfield business, saying the youngsters were yelled at and the party was kicked out without a refund. But the establishment’s owners say the children’s repeated disruptive behavior forced them to ask the guests to leave.
Kerri-Ann Warren, one of five adult chaperones with the Springfield Seventh-Day Adventist Junior Academy’s summer program on July 17, posted on Facebook that a young Magic Wings employee scared some of the children, ages 3 to 10, by yelling at them to get away from a door, even though they were a fair distance away. She said the man seemed to be trying to “show off” for an employee in training.
Warren later told The Greenfield Recorder the butterflies frightened some of the children and they wanted to leave the conservatory. When Warren went to find a supervisor, she saw the young employee already speaking with a woman who identified herself as co-owner Kathy Fiore.
Warren said Fiore asked for her version of the story and then told Warren employees said several children broke various rules. Warren said she only wanted an apology for the employee yelling, and Fiore said one would not be given and asked the group to leave.
Fiore, however, said the party’s behavior “just became too disruptive to let them stay.”
“We have some very specific rules and expectations that are posted clearly in our facility,” she said. “There just wasn’t enough adult supervision.”
Fiore said about six employees told her that children were running in the conservatory, swatting at butterflies, stepping on butterflies, and throwing pebbles at tortoises and koi fish. She said those employees also said some students tried unsuccessfully to steal from the gift shop.
Warren said she does not believe any of this is true, but apologizes if it is. She said, however, children often will act immaturely and complaints should be calmly reported to chaperones so appropriate disciplinary actions can be taken.
There is no video footage of the incident.
Fiore said the young employee may have raised his voice because children were next to two doors U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations require to remain closed when not being used. She said she eventually called the police because Warren had threatened to do so.
When asked if she thought there were racial elements to this incident (many of the program’s students are black or Hispanic), Warren said she did not want to make that assumption. But Fiore was adamant that race never plays a factor in someone’s experience at Magic Wings.
“Our rules are designed for everybody, regardless of the color of your skin,” she said, adding that the young employee who reportedly told Warren to “get (her) people and leave” was simply referring to Warren’s group of children and chaperones, not any ethnic group.
George Miller III, Fiore’s brother and a co-owner of Magic Wings, said the family business has welcomed about 2 million visitors since it opened in 2000. Miller, who was at a doctor’s appointment during the incident, said the business hosts groups regularly and it is rare to have to ask a party to leave. Fiore said “you can count on one hand” the number of times it has happened.
Warren said the chairperson of the church is considering writing a letter to Magic Wings.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.