Saxe Middle School seventh-grader Mary Ellen Dolan says that she and classmates Cailin Prostor and Natalie Kenin had “wanted a snow day really bad” as the winter storm that struck New Canaan overnight approached.
L-R: Mary Ellen Dolan, Cailin Prostor and Natalie Kenin enjoy an afternoon of sledding at Waveny, on Feb. 28, 2023. Credit: Michael Dinan
“We were pretty excited,” Dolan said Tuesday afternoon from the top of the sledding hill at Waveny, moments before the three of them took a second downhill run toward the pond. “I’m just excited to have hot cocoa and then sit by the fireplace.”
Kenin said, “It’s better than math.”
Scores of families, kids and teens took to “the slopes” of New Canaan—mainly at Waveny and also behind South School—following the first true snowfall of the winter. With New Canaan Public Schools closed, they brought sleds, bodyboards, innertubes and snowboards to the public park, laughing and crashing across a wide swath of the popular sledding hill, made wider since the removal of several trees by the Waveny Park Conservancy, opening up the vista overlooking what the nonprofit organization has renamed “Anderson Pond,” from Mosley Hill to just below the Powerhouse Theatre. Ruddy-faced kids zoomed along the hard-packed snow and then trudged back up for another go, while parents clutching coffee cups and cellphones watched from above.
Sledding at Waveny on Feb. 28, 2023. Credit: Michael Dinan
Art and Barbara Studzinski, who moved to New Canaan last year from Brooklyn, took their two young children to Waveny for sledding for the first time.
“I think it’s great,” Art Studzinski said. “And we live down the street so it’s very convenient. Something to do, great exercise for the kids. In Brooklyn, in the city, we still get snow but we don’t have hills like this. It’s the natural beauty, a great scene. The kids are loving it.”
It also is “about time” that the town got a good snowfall, he added.
Darien High School juniors Charlotte Golden, Lila Debano and Christina McDonnell rig a skiing/sledding device at Waveny on Feb. 28, 2023. Credit: Michael Dinan
“It’s overdue,” he said. “Glad it’s here. Got all my gear well in advance and I’m glad to finally use it out here instead of having to drive up to a mountain.”
Darien High School juniors Charlotte Golden, Lila Debano and Christina McDonnell say they come to Waveny whenever a good snow falls.
“This is the best hill we have around,” Lila Debano said.
Sledding at Waveny on Feb. 28, 2023. Credit: Michael Dinan
The three of them rigged up a pair of “skis” using two snowboards, and took turns trying to keep their balance downhill. They were joined by DHS seniors Anna Debano and Lilly Wurm.
“It’s makeshift skis, no bindings, but it works pretty well,” Golden said.
McDonnell said, “The snow is good, pretty packed in for sledding. When you fall it’s not that hard.”
Some families picked up sleds at Swap Shop. Several snow blowers were also taken😁
What pure joy for children- some things are never out of vogue – so refreshing – no phones, no screens!