It was a perfect summer day at Chester Bowl, and yet the location that would be usually hosting dozens of laughing, active kids sat empty. The park, with the signature ski slope at its center, was waiting.
This year the Chester Bowl Improvement Club, a nonprofit that partners with the City of Duluth to provide year-round programming at Chester, is overseeing the rebuilding of a brand new chalet, right in the heart of the park. During construction, the summer camps that usually keep this site bubbling with fun have been moved to neighboring parks with the hope that the chalet will open in time to welcome the first snow and excited skiers and snowboarders.
“The new building is about serving the community and serving it well,” said Dave Schaeffer, former Executive Director of the Chester Bowl Improvement Club. The new chalet will be a tool for the nonprofit to continue to serve as many families as possible, both through facilitating winter sports on the ski hill, as well as through their popular summer camps. Larger, more accessible, and better laid out for their current needs, the new chalet will create a more welcoming atmosphere for the entire community.
And from the moment the chalet opens later this fall, it will be brimming with activity as the nonprofit implements its core winter programming.
Starting in late October, people can come in for a fitting night to rent skis or snowboards for the year, which they can also use at other alpine hills. Families can get season rentals after the hill has opened for the winter. Rentals for this equipment are popular, particularly with people interested in skiing but are not ready to invest in their own gear, as well as for families with growing kids. And, for those who can’t afford passes and/or gear, limited scholarships are available.
This program creates a sense of identity for “Chester Park families” who spend a good portion of their winter on the hill, skiing and snowboarding, and also volunteering. Volunteers are integral to the success of every season, helping to build a sense of community while keeping operating costs down and allowing donations to go directly towards scholarships.
“The new building is all about serving the community and serving it well.”
Dave Schaeffer, former Chester Bowl Improvement Club Executive Director
“Chester Bowl was one of the foundations that helped me, as a single mom, raise my three daughters,” shared Amy Kranig, former Chester Bowl Improvement Club board member, who’s also currently serving on their finance committee and on the new chalet’s capital campaign.
“I would not have been able to afford any of it for just one kid, let alone three. But that was never an issue,” she shared. “All three girls skied, two of them learned during ski camp, while my oldest was a cadet.”
The cadet program is just one of the ways kids have the opportunity to “Grow up Chester”, as some of them call it. After learning to ski, youth are given an opportunity to volunteer in a first ‘job’ to help out on the hill and teach younger kids to learn how to ski. There’s also a sister cadet program for their summer camps. Chester becomes a safe third place for youth to build community and independence in a safe space.
This is a reflection of the leadership’s commitment to how these activities are run. “I’ve always said that what we do, skiing, snowboarding, playing games at summer camp, is less important than how we do it,” said Dave.
And the literal guidepost for how they approach their work is through their Peace in the Parks pledge, which begins with: Chester Bowl should be a safe place for everyone. To help that happen, I promise to be kind and caring to others.
It’s within this ethos that people engage in Chester Bowl to have fun outside but also build community. And, with the new chalet and a fresh blanket of snow, the waiting will finally be over, and the hill will once again fill with Chester Bowl families, both returning and new.
You can help bring more people to this community-focused hill. “We know that there are still more families that want to join us, including those that can’t afford full program fees,” said Dave. Scholarships to participate in both winter and summer programing are primarily funded by direct donations from the community. People can give directly to the Chester Bowl Improvement Club and can also round up at the register for the nonprofit this November at the Co-op.
Blog cover photo: Aerial view of the new chalet’s construction; photo by Northern Huddle Photography