It was a gray, rainy day in most of Snohomish County, but there was snow in Mill Creek.
A caravan of semi trucks hauled several tons of snow from the mountains to Gold Creek Community Church, where thousands of people gathered Saturday, Dec. 9 for the church’s annual Snow Day.
Behind the church, children went sledding down a gentle embankment that had been covered with the imported snow. Later in the day, professional snowboarders put on an exhibition where more snow was piled in front of the church.
“They said trucks full of snow, and that’s what they brought,” said church member Denise Raynard, who attended the event with her husband and three of their children.
Church pastor Larry Ehoff said it took eight trucks pulling 16 trailers to haul enough snow from Snoqualmie Pass. Only one truckload was used for the first Snow Day three years ago, he said.
“It just gets bigger every year,” Ehoff said.
There were several other activities throughout the day. Inside the church, children made paper hats and shaped pipe-cleaner reindeer. They also watched Christmas films, played on a giant, inflatable slide and ate cotton candy. There was also a holiday bazaar.
Steve Zeng of Mill Creek watched his son slide down the snowy hill outside. His wife, Li, and daughter were inside building a gingerbread house, he said.
“It’s really nice,” Zeng said. “This is lots of fun.”
People who go to the church had been planning the event for months.
However, many of the people who came Saturday weren’t church members.
“There are lots of people here from the community,” Raynard said. “That’s good. That’s what we want.”
Scott Pesznecker is a reporter with The Herald in Everett.
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