Techno music blasted in the background as Tony Esch’s snowboard glided up a wooden ramp and skidded across a metal beam. As the Dewitt, Mich., resident landed, he bent over and ripped off the Velcro straps of his shoes.
He picked up the board and headed back up the hill at Hawk Island Snow Park. It was time to do it all over again.
Esch and more than 100 community members were at Hawk Island Snow Park in Hawk Island County Park, 1601 E. Cavanaugh Road, in Lansing, on Saturday for the park’s inaugural open house and rail jam. Walking tours of the site and demonstrations of a variety of obstacles and rails were given at the event, while DJ Juan Trevino, Dr. Sketch and INoV8 played music.
Project coordinator of Urban Snow Parks LLC Pete Boscheff said the event was pulled together in three days and acted as a community introduction to the park.
“In a lot of ways, it’s a dress rehearsal for the grand opening,” he said.
The hill will have areas for tubing, snowboarding and skiing. Its grand opening is slated for mid-December.
The event also offered the chance for Ingham County officials involved with Hawk Island Snow Park’s creation to see their project put to use.
Ingham County Commissioner Debbie Nolan said she cannot wait for the snow park to open.
“I’m just passionate about this,” Nolan said. “I’m hoping to get MSU students more involved in our park system.”
President of local organization Friends of Ingham County Parks Aengus McIntosh said the park is not just for MSU students but for the whole community to become more involved in winter sports.
“We want people to get off the couch,” McIntosh said.
Within the relatively flat lands of Hawk Island County Park, Saturday’s attendees could see a man-made mound with the name Hawk Island scrawled largely across the dirt in white. Skiers and snowboarders made their way up and down the hill to try out the demos.
For human resource management freshman Eric Starke, who attended Saturday’s open house, snowboarding is everything. Back home, Starke snowboarded six days a week, and he said he’s excited about getting the opportunity to continue snowboarding in the area.
“I like everything about (snowboarding),” Starke said. “It’s what I live to do. It’s something I’ve done my whole life.”
Having a snow park in Lansing is a dream come true and a wallet-saver for Esch. To snowboard, he currently has to take an hour drive to Grand Rapids. Having a snow park closer will help him easily enjoy the sport, he said.
“It’s going to save me a lot of gas money,” Esch said. “It gives us something to do.”
Boscheff said he sees a bright future for the park and hopes it will become a fixture within the community.
“We just have a high bar for awesome,” he said. “I believe you can do awesome things anywhere if you have the will.”
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