MANSFIELD — This weekend’s weather forecast is ideal for a party at Snow Trails, the ski resort’s marketing manager Nate Wolleson said.
As of Thursday afternoon, the National Weather service was calling for a chance of snow showers Friday through Sunday, which has Wolleson looking forward to Snow Trails’ annual mid-season party Saturday evening.
“We’re really excited when we can have enough snow to make a custom snow bar and a terrain park features on our Mount Mansfield slope,” he said.
He expects a busy weekend with as many as 2,500 to 3,000 visitors, a crowd comparable to the resort’s annual winter carnival.
The mid-season party kicks off at 5 p.m. Saturday, but the resort is open regular hours all weekend. The event includes music provided outdoors by a DJ, live music by “Contagious ‘Til 4” at 9 p.m. in the Snowflake Loft and fireworks at 9:30 p.m.
“People have seen fireworks before, but this is really unique,” Wolleson said. “When they first go off…it makes the entire snow surface glow.”
Employees have been preparing for the party since Tuesday, when they started to pile up snow for its special features, including a bar made entirely of snow with a platform for the party’s DJ to play music.
“With Martin Luther King Day Monday, being a holiday, we waited until Tuesday to start working on this,” Wolleson said. “We’ve built a base for each feature and will pile up the snow. All this week we’ve worked hard on custom building it.”
The first mid-season party was held in 2011, Wolleson estimated. Since then, it has become one of the resort’s most popular events.
“It’s a way to celebrate the middle of the season, and it’s really caught on for us,” Wolleson said.
Admission to the party — including the outdoor music and fireworks — is free. To ski, snowboard or go tubing, visitors must purchase passes.
Admission to the Snowflake Loft for live music costs $10. It is free to season pass holders and $5 for day lift ticket holders. Everyone who enters the loft must be 21 or older.
For more information about the party, visit snowtrails.com/midseasonparty, and to see about a special January discount in honor of “learn to ski and snowboard month,” visit snowtrails.com/lssm.
