CHARLEMONT — Parents and children gathered to watch homemade cardboard sleds zip down a slope at Berkshire East’s annual “Cardboard Classic” on Sunday.
The warm weather didn’t stop the nearly 18 contestants, competing in categories ranging from fastest to best sled design.
Area children constructed the sleds mostly with duck tape, cardboard and paint.
One sled looked like a rocket ship, another looked like a school bus and a third appeared to be an army tank. Some of the sleds flew off the track and rolled, while others slid past the finish line with ease.
“When you get speed, you don’t know if you are going to crash or not,” said Nicholas Slocik, 13. His Hogwarts-themed sled won “best costume.” He crossed the finish line with his sister, Samantha Slocik, 10, and his cousin, Sofiya Slocik-Gritzner, 9.
Nicholas flew past the finish line while dressed as Harry Potter, with a red and white striped tie and a magic wand. Samantha and Sofiya were also in character, dressed as the characters Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley. A makeshift broomstick poked out of the front of their sled, which crossed the finish line in about 22 seconds. The trio constructed their sled in three days with help from their grandma and grandpa. This was their third year competing at the annual “Cardboard Classic.”
“I was a little nervous,” said Samantha Slocik. One of the sleds that went down the slope before hers rolled and fell apart on the slope.
After all the sleds slid down the slope, families gathered inside the ski lodge to eat snacks while they waited for the competition results.
“It’s a great family event. We’ve had space shuttles here. We’ve had fire trucks,” said Brenda Walker, a volunteer who has been organizing the event for about 5 years. “It’s just a lot of fun.”
After the sledding festivities boiled down, the eighth annual Chowder Fest, sponsored by the Friends of the Charlemont Fairgrounds, took place inside the Berkshire East Ski Lodge.