By Lisa Byers
Meadville Tribune
CONNEAUT LAKE —
CONNEAUT LAKE — Stacey Berg and her family have made western Crawford County their vacation destination for the past several years. One of the main attractions, aside from their cottage in Linesville, is Conneaut Lake Park.
“I’m originally from Pittsburgh,” said Berg, who now resides in Port Washington, Wis. “My grandparents owned the cottage and I used to come here when I was younger. We used to stay in a cottage in the park or stay in the hotel.
“It was always something we enjoyed as a family,” Berg said.
Today, trips to Conneaut Lake Park are still a very big part of the Berg family’s life.
“We come a few times a year,” Berg said. “Whenever the park is open, we’re here.”
Thursday was one of those days. And thanks to the park’s canned goods promotion each Thursday, the Berg’s were not only treated to a big discount, they were also able to give a little back.
“We’ll probably be here every day this weekend,” Berg said. “This is big. It’s a nice thing to be able to give and then to get a good discount.”
Each Thursday, for the price of two canned goods, patrons of Conneaut Lake Park receive a discount on already reduced all-day ride passes. The food is then donated to local food banks and churches in the area in need.
Tim Lisko, co-owner of Lisko Entertainment LLC, which leases the park’s rides and serves as the promotion’s organizer, said approximately 200 canned goods have been collected each of the last two weeks. Those goods were recently delivered to the Jamestown and Linesville food banks.
Lisko said the Youngstown Food Bank and a few churches in the area will benefit from collections the next couple of weeks.
“It’s been a great thing,” said Cindy Davis, CLP personnel manager. “It’s a discounted rate on Thursdays already, so (customers) are getting an even bigger deal and they are helping other people.”
It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved, she said, and Conneaut Lake Park is definitely seeing the benefits.
Davis said the purchase of all-day ride bands on Thursdays, since the promotion began, is more than double of those purchased on Friday or Sunday. For example, Davis said 45 ride bands were purchased on Sunday. The previous Thursday, 160 bands were sold, Davis said. And of those, 105 were purchased with the discount from bringing in canned goods.
The cost of an all-day ride band on Saturday and Sunday is $15.40 for children under 46 inches tall and $19.95 for adults. On Friday, the cost is $15 for children and adults.
Thursdays the cost is lowered to $11 for children and adults. The cost is just $5.50 with two canned goods.
None of the costs include admission to the park’s water park, “Splash City,” which is an additional $9.95 per person.
This is the second year for the canned food promotion.
“Why not?” said Berg, when asked why she decided to take advantage of Thursday’s deal. “It’s ‘Canned Goods Thursday.’”
The look on her 11-year-old daughter Riley’s face as she snuggled with the stuffed frog she had just won while playing Cow Derby was probably another good reason.
Lisa Byers can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at lbyers@meadvilletribune.com.
