Every winter for the last four years, Memorial Park in Bracebridge has been transformed into a skating trail by a group of local volunteers. Now, they’re looking for a few sets of extra hands to help maintain the park’s winter village.
Mike Jefford started the Memorial Park Winter Village back in 2016 with the staff at MJC Muskoka, his company of excavation and landscape contractors. They were already working on a number of contracts for snow maintenance in town, so they decided to transform the downtown park during the winter months.
“We had to put a proposal into council and they approved it,” Jefford said. “My company was behind it for the first five years, but I’ve closed the snow business and I’m just living here seasonally.”
Jefford said that he will continue to get the winter village up and running by doing the initial ice build-up, but going forward, two or three volunteers are needed to help with ongoing maintenance. The work includes snow blowing and flooding the ice, which typically takes an hour or two and starts at 10 p.m.
“It’s a great project, I love doing it, but I’m just not going to be living here anymore in the winter,” Jefford said. “We just need someone to kind of take over the reins of the project, but all the work is really rewarding when you’re out there and you see a bunch of kids out skating on it.”
If you’re interested in helping maintain the skating trail at Memorial Park, send a message to the Memorial Park Winter Village Facebook page, or call or text Mike Jefford at 705-706-7079.
