Peter Pan, Captain Hook and Tinker Bell were all skiing at Lum Park yesterday evening. The Brainerd Ski Loons put on their show “Peter Pan: Ski-Ventures in Neverland”, and playing Peter Pan was director Chris Dens, who started the group back in 2015.

“Some people had been on water skis or did tubing and things like that. But as far as all the stuff you would see at one of our shows, nobody had any idea so we had a lot of fun teaching everybody from the ground up,” said Dens.

The team includes members ages 7 to 67 that all share a common love of being out on the water.

“It’s the inter-generational team aspect. It’s cliché – there is no “I” in team, but everybody’s got a niche to do, they do it. We’ve got old people helping young people, young people energizing young people and it is a very fun family inter-generational activity,” said Hal Leland, a boat driver for the Brainerd Ski Loons.

Sometimes locals forget to go out and enjoy their own lakes, but the Brainerd Ski Loons are just one way that locals get to showcase their lakes to tourists and area residents alike.

“I totally fell in love with the show, and actually, it’s been a dream of mine to always be part of a ski show, so I was close to joining this year but hopefully maybe next year I can try. I wanted to bring everybody back here to watch it,” said community member Kim Hitter.

Some of the team members recall when they first tried show skiing and how it was not as hard as they originally thought.

“Easier, I always tell everyone to join they say they can’t even ski but I say it doesn’t matter, they will teach you and it is not as hard as you think it is,” said skier Elle Bruggeman.

The non-profit organization aims to build character and confidence while teaching the art of performance through teamwork.

“It’s been really fun to see a lot of the young ones grow and develop and see their confidence build and hearing stories from parents when they are at home about how ski team has impacted lives,” Dens said.

The Brainerd Ski Loons are grateful for the community support to show off the natural beauty in the heart of lake country.

By — Sarah Winkelmann