I spent this past weekend with my friend Ashley in her hometown of Grand Haven. It happened to be the weekend of Winterfest, in which there are all kinds of activities from human sled races (people pulling a dog sled) to a hamster and gerbil race at the local YMCA. But my favorite event was the cardboard sled race.
The race took place on the front hill at the local ski bowl, Mulligan’s Hollow. The hill was bordered by packed snow barriers that spectators lined to watch. The bottom of the hill, just past the finish line, had hay bales scattered about to stop the speeding cardboard sleds. I stood about half way up the hill with Ashley and her mom and watched heat after heat of people fly down the hill in duct taped cardboard and then collide with hay bales if they hadn’t already collided with another contestant.
The time and creativity that went into these sleds was incredible. There was a giant cheeseburger with a palm tree that held four adults, plus one clinging to the side with the palm tree, a bat mobile complete with lights, an RV with a radio playing, a tractor, a penguin, a box of crayons – people went all out in creating their cardboard sleds. It was something unlike anything I had ever seen.
Like the fabulous blogger I am, I didn’t take any pictures of this incredible spectacle, but the Grand Haven Tribune can make up where I lack, plus they even have some videos for you to enjoy.
Besides getting to witness the magic that was Winterfest we got to see a somewhat frozen Lake Michigan from the pier, watch Brave, eat home cooked food, pet Ashley’s dog Kalvin, relax and get some homework done too. As wonderful as Hope’s campus is, getting to go off-campus sometimes is a nice change of pace and I am so thankful I have made friends to do that with.
Thanks for reading!
-Erin
Feel free to contact me at erin.hoolahan@hope.edu with any questions!