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Bumming around Bon Soo (13 photos)

For decades, the bum slides have been a Bon Soo Winter Carnival mainstay and one of the festival's most popular attractions

For decades, the bum slides have been a Bon Soo Winter Carnival mainstay and one of the festival's most popular attractions for both the young and young at heart.

Created in conjunction with and constructed by Petingalo Contracting (the resident bum slide specialist) for the past several years, the biggest and most obvious challenge in their construction is weather.

Dave Pitcher, Bon Soo board of directors vice president, told SooToday the slide design itself can be demanding.

"We like to keep them exciting and dynamic and not the same every year. So over the years, we've had different slide variations," he said. "This year we have the big wide slide so a bunch of kids can go down at once."

"A lot [of the design] is based on how much snow we have," Pitcher explained. "Some years we've had next to nothing and had to gather snow from all over the city. This year, we weren't short on snow, but we don't have an avalanche. But it's working out great. All the kids are coming down with smiles."

But the slides aren't just for kids.

Pitcher admitted he partakes in the activity quite frequently… depending on how smooth the ride is.

"I go down quite a bit," he said. "And because the wide one this year is nice and flat and smooth, I'll probably put in a lot of laps with my little guy. It's when the slides are bumpy that I wear out pretty fast."

"I still love it. I'm usually one of the biggest kids out there."

The Bon Soo bum slides are located at the Winter Playground at Mill Market.

Hours of operation (weather permitting) are:

    •    Saturday, February 6 and Sunday, February 7 - 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
    •    Monday, February 8 through Friday, February 12 - 5 to 8 p.m.
    •    Saturday, February 13 and Sunday, February 14 - 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
    •    Monday, February 15 (Family Day) - noon to 4 p.m.

Mr. Bon Soo and Algoma Public Health encourage all bum-sliders to wear a helmet.

For a complete list of this year's Bon Soo Winter Carnival activities, please click here.


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Donna Hopper

About the Author: Donna Hopper

Donna Hopper has been a photojournalist with SooToday since 2007, and her passion for music motivates her to focus on area arts, entertainment and community events.
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