It was foggy and grey in town, but up at the 100 Mile Nordics’ ski trails, it was clear and cheerful. Which made a good atmosphere for the club’s Solstice Celebration of Light.
“It went really well. We had a great turnout, saw lots of faces up there we haven’t seen before,” said Kristi Iverson, president of the Nordics.
She estimated that more than 200 people showed up, but the club was not keeping any sort of tally.
“It was a lot of work,” she said about organizing the event. “We created a plan quite a few weeks ago and there has been lots of preparation; making ice candles and building the goat, decorating, and making food and bringing everyone together.”
The hard work by the 20 or so people who helped out with the organization paid off, with Iverson saying some of the highlights were watching the burning of the goat, seeing lots of people coming and skiing, in addition to the people meeting Foxy Moonbeam.
RELATED: Eliza Archie student inspires 100 Mile Nordics mascot
Based on a fox who frequents the ski trails, Foxy Moonbeam is the club’s new mascot. Riviana (River) Bob from Eliza Archie Memorial School came up with the name.
Iverson said that next year they will be sure to make sure there is more food, but besides running out of food the event is being viewed as a success.
“Everything there is so weather-dependent. We were very lucky to have good weather, but I really enjoyed seeing how many different people came to that kind of event compared to some of our events that are more directly ski-related,” she said. “There were lots of people renting and trying things out but no new registrations. But that doesn’t really surprise me, people want to try something out before they commit spending a bunch of money for the year. We’re just happy to have people come on a daily fee basis and enjoy the facilities.”