This had to be one of the most memorable Fall Festivals ever! I met two of my favorite celebrities: General Manager Eric Flynn and the world famous snowboarding possum Ratatouille. It was also a great party - autumn sunshine, colorful leaves, and bluegrass music from “Tuckahoe Ridge,” the Cannonball Chili and Chicken Corn soup cook-off, wine and beer tasting, chairlift rides, and plenty of activities for the younger set. Everyone is waiting for the cold and for snow making season!

Marketing Director Anne Weimer and General Manager Eric Flynn. Photo provided by Charles Sneiderman.

Now, the stars: Eric Flynn received high honors - he was one of 12 inducted into the Pennsylvania Ski and Winter Sports Hall of Fame. He is Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Snow Time, Inc. Eric is also the Chairman of the National Ski Areas Association, which represents 325 Alpine Resorts in this country. According to the Pennsylvania Ski Areas Association, “he has recently contributed to the welfare of his employees and volunteers by the creation of an on the job health and accident benefit policy.”

Eric is warm, outgoing, friendly, and welcoming. But he has a rival - the possum Ratatouille! I enjoyed several minutes of cuddling with the creature during the Festival. The video of him snowboarding has been seen around the world, and has received over a million hits http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21XBFaG5zGY. He is warm and loving, despite long nails and sharp teeth. He appears to want to eat and drink anything.

Kristine Bower, Ratatouille, and Eric Flynn. Photo provided by Charles Sneiderman.

His adorable snowboarding ride may have been his first experience. He and 8 other brothers and sisters were rescued by Kristine Bower, the food and drink manager of McKee’s Tavern at Liberty. Their mother had been killed by a car, and the young possums were clinging to her. Kristine rescued, nurtured, and trained them.

That is one of the many surprises at Liberty. Other surprises are in store, but many of them have to await Mother Nature, the cold, and the snow.