A steady stream of outdoor enthusiasts made their way up and down the Lively Ski Hill during the first Friday Fun Night event on Jan. 10, organized by local volunteers.
“We have an intent on keeping this hill alive,” Allmac Tree Service owner Paul Bonhomme told Sudbury.com while warming himself up next to a roaring fire alongside son, Ivan.
“Countless people in this community rely on this place for a thing to do.”
The Bonhomme family donated the firewood for the Friday Fun Night as part of a special push to make Friday night’s at the ski hill special.
Among the team of volunteers who put it all together, community steward David Kurt said it’s all about getting people out to use the ski hill again so the city doesn’t take it away.
The Lively Ski Hill’s closure remains a possibility, with city council voting last August to keep the municipal ski hill open for at least one more season while they review its longer-term future.
With the hill slated for potential closure last year due to low use and cost recovery, Kurt headed a Change.org petition to keep the hill open, which was credited with helping convince city council members to give the community a chance to ramp up attendance.
The inaugural Friday Fun Night on Jan. 10 was BeaverTails-themed due to a BeaverTails snack vendor setting up shop for the evening. Next week’s theme will be the Sudbury Wolves, during which team mascot Howler will be in attendance and people will be encouraged to wear jerseys.
Subsequent Friday nights will be Disney and superhero-themed.
On Jan. 10, the slopes were packed, with a long lineup of people making their way up the hill and a steady stream of snowboarders and skiers making their way down.
“We made a big push and put the word out to local schools and put a radio ad out so people know that skiing under the lights on Friday will be an extra fun thing,” Kurt said.
A core group of eight volunteers banded together as an informal committee to head the Lively Ski Hill promotion effort, while others in the community stepped up, including local businesses which donated funds to sponsor ski lift passes for those who can’t afford them.
Volunteers have also been taking care of the canteen.
“So much of the community, especially in Lively, stepped up to make this a really cool atmosphere and place to be,” Kurt said, adding that city staff have also been “great to work with,” and have similarly stepped up to help the community achieve their goals.
“It really feels like it’s revived,” Kurt said of the hill, adding that he’s uncertain as to why use dropped off in recent years to a point city council considered closing the hill.
“Maybe the community took for granted what was here,” he said, noting that this no longer appears to be the case. “I’ve been there three times already this year, and it’s been packed each time. It has been such a cool atmosphere.”
Among those hitting the slopes on Friday night was Ward 2 Coun. Eric Benoit, who was among a handful of city council members who championed last year’s efforts in council chambers to keep the hill open for at least another season. In August of last year, he also presented Kurt’s petition to city council, which by then had hit approximately 2,600 signatures.
(The petition’s total was 2,766 as of mid-day Saturday.)
Benoit told Sudbury.com that he would continue advocating for the hill to remain open, and that the crowd of people hitting the slopes on Friday made a good argument for as much.
“I think if we have good numbers, we can keep things going,” he said, adding that further work on such things as the ski lift might take place next year, pending city council’s final decision.
Directly ahead of Benoit in line for the lift was the Fournier family from Azilda, headed by parents Alex and Chantal, and their two young children, Bay, 10, and Harper, 12.
“I love it,” Chantal said of the hill, adding that it was their first time at the Lively attraction, which they prefer to the Adanac Ski Hill in Sudbury.
“Adanac is intimidating,” she said, noting that her young family has preferred the smaller hill in Lively.
For more on the Lively Ski Hill and such events as Friday Fun Nights, visit its Facebook page by clicking here.
Following the Jan. 10 event, organizers posted on their Facebook page that they might have set a new record for evening attendance at the Lively Ski Hill.
“It was amazing to see so many smiling faces—especially the kids, who made the night even more special with their energy and excitement,” they wrote.
“It was wonderful to welcome so many new faces, reinforcing the true sense of community that makes our hill so unique.”
The Lively Ski Hill is open Wednesdays and Fridays from 6-9:30 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 12-4:30 p.m. Lift ticket and season pass information is available by clicking here.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
