Boyce Park hosted its first Santa Ski Day on Saturday and its organizers hope it continues to grow as word spreads across the area.
Skiers and snowboarders who came dressed as Santa could ski at the Four Seasons Lodge after paying a $10 donation to the Boyce Park Ski Patrol.
People who didn’t have their own Santa suit could buy one for $20.
Pat Boccardi, head of the Boyce Park Ski Patrol, said all proceeds will fund research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) — also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease — a disease of the nervous system that weakens muscles and limits mobility.
One of the ski patrollers, Bob Zeigler, was diagnosed ALS about a year ago, Boccardi said. At that time, the ski patrol began planning a fundraiser. When Zeigler died a month ago, the fundraiser became memorial to him, as well.
After sundown, skiing was supplemented with a “torch light parade” around 6:30 p.m., using glowsticks as torches.
Tyrone Blatt, a snowboarder dressed as Santa with his son, Dominik, said he learned about the event through the Allegheny County Facebook page and was excited for the fun take on snowboarding.
“Boyce Park here is like a hidden gem,” Blatt said. “It’s just, like, a half-hour outside of the city, and it’s a great place to learn snowboarding,”
Officials say the event did well for its first year. Renee Pediconi was selling Santa suits inside the lodge. She started out with 25 suits. Within the first hour, only four remained.
Boccardi said he hopes the fundraiser will become an annual event for the weekend before Christmas. That could be a challenge, he said, because the park didn’t open until Dec. 14 this year, leaving a “narrow window” to host a Santa-themed event.
“Hopefully, the people that are buying outfits this year will be back next year,” he said. “And we’ll sell more and it’ll get bigger each year.
“I want to get 100 people out there in Santa outfits.”
Boyce Park will host a Snow Fest at the end of January, featuring face painting, a balloon artist and a “mini-Olympics” for children.
