Staff Writer
STOCKHOLM — Let it be known that at the 74th annual Snö Carnival in Stockholm, community spirit was rampant. The fastest racer received the same amplitude of cheering as the slowest racer, and those cheered echoed though out downtown Stockholm. It should come as no surprise that this event, which exudes fresh air and smiles, is growing.
Photo contributed by Laurie Spooner
Volunteer Firefighters Eric Margeson, left, and Sven Bondeson, right, were two of the volunteer firefighters participating in the 2010 Snö Carnival so that children, like Nicholas Margeson, center, will become more familiar with seeing a firefighter in full-gear.
Of course, not everyone who attended the 2010 Snö Carnival strapped on a pair of skies and hit the trails full force; though times are changing and some community members find themselves watching the races from the bottom of the hill or socializing with their neighbors over a cup of coffee in the cafeteria, the spirit of the festival hasn’t changed for the past 74 years, and it doesn’t look like it will change any time soon.
“This isn’t about kids bringing home trophies or medals, it’s about kids going out and having fun,” said 2010 Snö Carnival committee member David Strainge.
To say the kids had fun would be an understatement. The older kids helped the younger kids, the younger kids played with the older kids, and every kid was given an opportunity to do what kids from New Sweden, Stockholm, Westmanland, and Woodland arguably do best, which is play in the snow.
“It’s so much fun and it’s such a great event,” said committee member David Spooner. “The smiles you see — any little bit of work that we put in to make this happen is well worth it.”
Those smiles were everywhere and they were beaming. When a kid hit a bump sledding down a hill, there was a smile, and when another kid climbed all the way up to the top of a snow pile, there was another smile. They were smiling when they fell off their sleds and when they finished a race, regardless of where they placed. There were so many smiles at the Snö Carnival that it might as well have been a toothpaste commercial.
A new aspect of the carnival this year, to the joy of all who viewed it, was the Fireman’s Snow Dash.
“We were on cross country skies and we skied around the top of the hill with all of our bulky gear on,” explained Fire Chief Jeff Page. While it was fun for everyone involved, it also served a practical purpose.
The more familiar youths become with seeing firefighters donning full gear, the less scary the image becomes to a kids when firefighters emerge in full-gear from the smoky haze in a dangerous situation.
Tamara Cote, the third committee member, remembers that when she was growing up in the region, “there was no question as to whether or not you were going to do it; it was what happened in town.”
While the event did quiet down for a few years, this year particularly experienced resurgence for obvious reasons.
“This is the biggest crowd I’ve seen in five or six years,” Strainge said, “we’ve had some great participation.”
