Fall Festival begins today at Peek'n Peak Resort

 

 

By VALERIE MYERS, Erie Times-News
valerie.myers@timesnews.com

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FINDLEY LAKE, N.Y. -- There's a touch of winter at the 25th annual Fall Festival at Peek'n Peak Resort and Spa.

On the opening day of the festival Saturday, skiers and snowboarders glided down a high jump, landed on cylindrical and rectangular rails, twisted and landed again in snow shaved from the ice at local ice arenas, sometimes on their feet and sometimes not.

To a teen, they shook it off and went back for more.

The Rail Jam is a highlight of Fall Festival, which also includes live music, horse-drawn wagon and lift rides, and crafts. The festival continues today and next weekend.

Kyle DeLong, 16, of Perry, Ohio, skied down the jump, lost his balance in a twist, and went down. He shook it off, stepped out of his skis and climbed back up the jump for another go.

"I'm ready to get skiing," he said.

After this winter, DeLong and others won't have to wait to ski. The resort has bought a BagJump, a giant cushion for skiers, snowboarders and bikers to land on all year. It will be inflated and ready to use in December, said Nick Scott Jr., vice president of Scott Enterprises, which owns the resort.

"We brought in an AcroBag (in February), and it was so exciting and so much fun for so many people that we went out and bought our own bag," Scott said.

The resort is also expanding its terrain park for snow acrobats by one-third.

Beyond the snow sports, it's still fall at the festival. Lifts provide bird's-eye views of the foliage, and a cannon fires pumpkins into bits of squash behind the main lodge. "It's hilarious," said Tammy Price, of Saegertown, watching with her husband, Mitch.

Michaela Bann, 14, and sister Makenzie, 13, of Fairview Township, enjoyed a Segway ride more.

"You just do this, this and that," Michaela Bann said, leaning. "It's not that hard."

VALERIE MYERS can be reached at 878-1913 or by e-mail. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNmyers.

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