More stories in Local
E-MAIL BOOKMARK
You need to be logged in to bookmark an article.
login | Register now | No thanks
PRINT
You need to be logged in to e-mail an article.
login | Register now | No thanks

A party for a princess for a day

SHEILA JOHNSON/Missourian

Ashton Hall sings a karaoke cover of a Hannah Montana song at her seventh birthday party at Goldilocks Salon. Her friends, including Kaila Perry, 6, right, joined her on stage for singing and dancing.

By SHEILA JOHNSON

December 16, 2007 | 6:37 p.m. CST

COLUMBIA — Wearing gold sparkle eye shadow, a pink dress with swirls and a rhinestone-studded princess crown, Ashton Hall is having her shining moment. It’s her seventh birthday and she’s decided to celebrate with friends and family in the party room at Goldilocks Salon, where kids can choose from different themes such as Tea Party, Princess or Sock Hop. Ashton chose Rock Star Diva.

Goldilocks Salon, which opened earlier this year, caters to the pint-sized. Girls are pampered with haircuts that include a “bubble” option. Manicures and make-up can be added on as extras. The walls are painted pink and purple and lime green, with bright furniture to finish the effect of stepping into a child’s dream world.

Goldilocks Salon owner Crystal Taylor applies gold sparkle eye shadow to Ashton Hall’s eyes at ...

From left to right: Lauren Hall, 5, Noelle Hall, 4, Ashton Hall, 7, Kaila Perry, ...

Related Multimedia

To get to the salon’s party room you have to walk to the back, passing through a doorway with “Glamour Avenue” painted over its arch. Once inside, there is a dressing room with party gowns to choose from, long mirrors with vanity lighting for make-up and styling, a disco ball and a karaoke stage.

Ashton and her little sister, her cousin and two friends get the glamour treatment. Since it is Ashton’s birthday, she goes first. She picks out her dress and sits down in a director’s chair to get her hair styled and then moves on to have make-up done and her fingers and toenails painted. “What I like about being a girl is that you get to dress up all of the time and be pretty,” Ashton says.

The girls are giddy with excitement and squeal when they’re asked if they want to take the stage and sing karaoke. Like real rock star divas, they dance and twirl, holding cordless microphones and striking poses at the right moments. “I like to dance and sing,” Ashton says.

Present opening time brings gifts of make-up, games, colored pencils and a surprise for Ashton: tickets to an upcoming Hannah Montana concert, which she’ll attend with her mom Crissy Hall, her sister Noelle, 4, and cousin Lauren Hall, 5. “I screamed so loud,” says Ashton of the moment she read the birthday card and found out she’d be going. “I liked it so much.”

As the party winds down, the girls have to change back into their regular clothes. Ashton takes off her party dress and princess crown, exchanging them for a denim skirt and sweater.

Comments on this article

Password: (Forgotten your password?)

You must be logged in to comment. If you don't have an account, you can register here.