Students say goodbye to winter and negativity by burning snowman

SAULT STE. MARIE MICH. - Lake Superior State continues a tradition that spans more than 50 years.

Around 200 people witnessed the Snowman Burning event Monday.

LSSU Fire Science class was there to make sure fire did not get out of control and to thoroughly extinguish it at the end of the event.
A poem was read by a group of the LSSU Compass Club before the burning.

Also, people wrote down something negative in their lives, put it in a box provided, and it was torched  with Frosty.

The following is part of a press release issued by the university:

The first day of spring means the end of winter, no matter what Mother Nature says, thanks symbolically to Lake Superior State University’s annual Snowman Burning.

Mounds of cold, wet flakes still blanket the Eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The stubbornly low thermostat proves all the more reason for LSSU to continue its 52-year tradition of setting fire to an enormous skeleton of wood covered in straw, wire, paint, and, on the outermost layer, artful white paper to usher in—or wish for—warmer weather.

The rite of passage ends with students from Lake State’s fire science program, one of the signature academic offerings at the institution, dousing the flames but not the spirits.

“We don’t freeze anyone out when we go up in flames,” said LSSU president Dr. Rodney S. Hanley. “Every year, we encourage Laker students, faculty, staff, and alumni, as well as our community neighbours, to say goodbye to Old Man Winter by saying hello to our longstanding cool tradition. While we revel in the winter wonderland that overtakes the region for months, we also enjoy to the max shedding our layers of clothes and putting on shorts to play in the beautiful, lush seasons. Snowman Burning, pun intended, creates that spark.”