Portland, ME – Snow is being trucked into Payson Park in Portland to replace the snow that melted over the weekend. Snowmaking took place for several hours Monday night, but with marginal temperatures in the forecast, no more snowmaking is anticipated before Portland’s Recreation Department hosts the first event in its “Wednesdays In the Park” series this week.nThe Payson Hill Terrain Park is a popular winter sliding hill in Portland that has grown in popularity with the addition of terrain park features including fun boxes and rails. In 2009, water lines were installed adjacent to Payson Hill, which allowed snowmaking to take place in February 2010. The city provides a compressor and snowguns are donated.

The Payson Hill Terrain Park, the second municipal terrain park in the U.S. after Ruby Hill in Denver, Colo., has expanded again this year. More than 1,000 cubic yards of fill was delivered and graded this summer, adding several feet of elevation and contoured terrain features to the slope. Maine ski areas have donated the terrain park elements.

The Ski Maine Association and the Portland Recreation Department have teamed up for the Wednesdays In the Park series, featuring seven Wednesday afternoon events beginning this week and ending Feb. 16. The Ski Maine Association tent will be set up each week, and Maine ski areas will also participate by having skiers and riders in the park, offering informal guidance.

The Wednesday events, which take place from 1 to 3:30 p.m. each week to coincide with early release school days, are free and open to everyone. There will be “Tips from the Pros” to anyone in the park, but no formal lessons. Kids need to bring their own equipment for skiing or snowboarding.

Ski areas participating in this week’s event series kickoff include Lost Valley, Mt. Abram, Shawnee Peak and Sunday River.

The historical connection to skiing and sliding in Portland is very strong. Thousands of residents learned to ski on a hill in Stroudwater during the 40’s and 50’s. Winter Carnivals were a premier event during the 1930’s with thousands of spectators and participants enjoying exhibitions of skiing, skating, tobogganing, ski jumping, and much more in the heart of the city, in the deep of winter.