Say ‘Snow Long, Winter’ At Massanutten Snow Moon Fest
March 05, 2020
By KATHLEEN SHAW
Daily News-Record 3/5/20
MASSANUTTEN — Massanutten Resort’s third annual Snow Moon Fest returns to the slopes with more lights, color and fun this weekend.
In 2018, the resort hosted the first festival as an anniversary commemorating its opening in 1972. Now, the returning family-friendly fun and mischief is a way to ring in spring and reminisce the end of winter.
Traditions of the festival include fundraisers 4K on the Fairway and the arctic plunge.
4K on the Fairway is a race to benefit the Elkton Area United Services where participants can brave the mountain morning air and either run or walk along the Mountain Greens Golf Course on Saturday morning.
Rebecca McNeely is a Massanutten resident who often registers for running opportunities to soak in the outdoors and share memories with friends and family. Of the courses she has run, McNeely said the 4K is among the most picturesque.
“It is probably one of the most beautiful events. You run/walk on the cart path of the Mountain Greens Golf Course with amazing views of the mountain and ski slopes,” McNeely said. “As an added bonus, the money paid for entry stays in the community.”
Sunday’s arctic plunge is a chilly dip to benefit Therapeutic Adventures, a Charlottesville nonprofit that for 39 years has provided adaptive alpine skiing and snowboarding for Massanutten Resort guests and offered accessible recreation opportunities to people with physical and chronic disabilities and illnesses across the state.
Mark Andrews, founder and executive director, said Therapeutic Adventures has provided support for people from ages 4 to 70 with conditions ranging from blindness to cerebral palsy to cancer, and Massanutten Resort is among its biggest supporters to ensure those people and their families are not restricted from enjoying the outdoors.
“Massanutten is the oldest continuously running adaptive snow sports program in the Southeast, and while the mountain has been very supportive of what we do, this is another way to raise more money. We provide partial to full scholarships for all of our participants and consequently, it takes a lot of money to do that, so this was another way to help our efforts,” Andrews said.
Over the past two years, the arctic plunge has raised approximately $3,300, according to Andrews.
On Friday, Basic City Beer Co. is doing a tap takeover in the Hideaway Lounge from 5 to 8:30 p.m. while “Frozen 2” is screened at Massanutten Conference Center. Saturday kicks off with early morning ski demos, races and the 4K on the Fairway. From noon to 8 p.m., breweries and vineyards are conducting tasting takeovers for guests to sample at Base Camp accompanied by live music from GypsyTown and Rob & Denny.
Harrisonburg band GypsyTown is no stranger to the mountain resort but has its festival debut this weekend. Lead singer and manager Cheryl Sule said the band enjoys shows at Massanutten because of its rotating, diverse crowd of vacationers and is additionally eager to enjoy the festival activities this year.
“We play at Massanutten a good bit and what we love is it’s a brand new audience every time, mixed in with our own fans,” Sule said. “We’re hoping the snow holds up, so we can go skiing while we’re there.”
After the United States Amateur Snowboard Association races wrap up on Saturday, fireworks will light up the sky at 9:15 p.m.
Both nights will have performances by Ready, Set, Go! for guests 21 and over and snow tubing under the “Northern Lights” at the Family Adventure Park. Sunday has freestyle ski demos and an all-you-can-eat brunch buffet to close off the festival. All weekend long, s’mores campfires and brewery takeovers will be offered for families to warm up and perhaps catch sight of Theo the Bear, the resort’s mascot.
Tickets for the weekend are available online at https://www.massresort.com/play/live-events/snow-moon-fest/.
Daily News-Record 3/5/20
MASSANUTTEN — Massanutten Resort’s third annual Snow Moon Fest returns to the slopes with more lights, color and fun this weekend.
In 2018, the resort hosted the first festival as an anniversary commemorating its opening in 1972. Now, the returning family-friendly fun and mischief is a way to ring in spring and reminisce the end of winter.
Traditions of the festival include fundraisers 4K on the Fairway and the arctic plunge.
4K on the Fairway is a race to benefit the Elkton Area United Services where participants can brave the mountain morning air and either run or walk along the Mountain Greens Golf Course on Saturday morning.
Rebecca McNeely is a Massanutten resident who often registers for running opportunities to soak in the outdoors and share memories with friends and family. Of the courses she has run, McNeely said the 4K is among the most picturesque.
“It is probably one of the most beautiful events. You run/walk on the cart path of the Mountain Greens Golf Course with amazing views of the mountain and ski slopes,” McNeely said. “As an added bonus, the money paid for entry stays in the community.”
Sunday’s arctic plunge is a chilly dip to benefit Therapeutic Adventures, a Charlottesville nonprofit that for 39 years has provided adaptive alpine skiing and snowboarding for Massanutten Resort guests and offered accessible recreation opportunities to people with physical and chronic disabilities and illnesses across the state.
Mark Andrews, founder and executive director, said Therapeutic Adventures has provided support for people from ages 4 to 70 with conditions ranging from blindness to cerebral palsy to cancer, and Massanutten Resort is among its biggest supporters to ensure those people and their families are not restricted from enjoying the outdoors.
“Massanutten is the oldest continuously running adaptive snow sports program in the Southeast, and while the mountain has been very supportive of what we do, this is another way to raise more money. We provide partial to full scholarships for all of our participants and consequently, it takes a lot of money to do that, so this was another way to help our efforts,” Andrews said.
Over the past two years, the arctic plunge has raised approximately $3,300, according to Andrews.
On Friday, Basic City Beer Co. is doing a tap takeover in the Hideaway Lounge from 5 to 8:30 p.m. while “Frozen 2” is screened at Massanutten Conference Center. Saturday kicks off with early morning ski demos, races and the 4K on the Fairway. From noon to 8 p.m., breweries and vineyards are conducting tasting takeovers for guests to sample at Base Camp accompanied by live music from GypsyTown and Rob & Denny.
Harrisonburg band GypsyTown is no stranger to the mountain resort but has its festival debut this weekend. Lead singer and manager Cheryl Sule said the band enjoys shows at Massanutten because of its rotating, diverse crowd of vacationers and is additionally eager to enjoy the festival activities this year.
“We play at Massanutten a good bit and what we love is it’s a brand new audience every time, mixed in with our own fans,” Sule said. “We’re hoping the snow holds up, so we can go skiing while we’re there.”
After the United States Amateur Snowboard Association races wrap up on Saturday, fireworks will light up the sky at 9:15 p.m.
Both nights will have performances by Ready, Set, Go! for guests 21 and over and snow tubing under the “Northern Lights” at the Family Adventure Park. Sunday has freestyle ski demos and an all-you-can-eat brunch buffet to close off the festival. All weekend long, s’mores campfires and brewery takeovers will be offered for families to warm up and perhaps catch sight of Theo the Bear, the resort’s mascot.
Tickets for the weekend are available online at https://www.massresort.com/play/live-events/snow-moon-fest/.
