LINNEUS, Maine — Children came out with their families to Linneus on Saturday, Feb. 27, to partake in the town’s annual sliding event.
Things were held differently this year, as most events have been, due to ongoing CDC guidelines regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. But kids still got to enjoy the thrill of sledding downhill and enjoying cups of hot chocolate, Josh Murchie of the Linneus Recreation Department said.
“Usually, we offer little snacks for lunch, but due to the restrictions we just did a single offering of hot chocolate,” Murchie said. “And we had some snowmobiles there so the kids didn’t have to manually walk back up the hill every time.”
Dozens of kids attended the event, which lasted from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with as many as 20 kids attending at the same time, according to Murchie. Admission was free, and parents were asked to stay around the area in order to supervise their children.
The sliding event usually occurs on Bates Hill, located along Bates Road in Linneus, but this year the town was approached by Thomas and Rachel Horton, who let the town use their property to hold the event. There were four hills in total, each with their own various degrees of slope, allowing for differing levels of difficulty for the multiple age groups that attended the event.
“If the younger kids want to just stay on one hill they can, and we had one really steep hill for the older kids,” Murchie said. “And even some of the younger kids got daring enough to go down it.”
As part of following the CDC guidelines, masks were required and social distancing when standing in line. The recreation department also received assistance from the Linneus Snow Sports Club for the event, providing snowmobiles to bring children to the tops of the hills, and grooming the hills the night before to make them ideal for sliding conditions.
Lily and Layla Potter of Linneus enjoy a day of sliding at the annual Linneus Sliding Party event, sponsored by the town’s Recreation Department. (Photo courtesy of Tammey Scott)
Dustin Scott of Linneus careens down the hill at the annual Linneus Sliding Party event, sponsored by the town’s Recreation Department. (Photo courtesy of Tammey Scott)
