MINDEMOYA—With the opening of Splashtown Manitoulin in Mindemoya this summer, Manitoulin Island is now home to two inflatable water parks. Splash N Go opened in Gore Bay last year and is in its second season, having proven to be very successful and popular among local residents and tourists.
“Our goal is to create an activity for children and families to enjoy without having to look at a screen of some sort,” said Derek Stonier, of Splashtown Manitoulin. “We want them to make memories instead of just sitting in front of a television or computer screen.”
Their first inflatable water park experience began in Niagara last year, explained Mr. Stonier, a water plant operator in Niagara Falls. “We were actually looking to get going there before COVID-19 but we couldn’t open because of the pandemic. We had to wait two years,” he said.
“Last year was our first year in Niagara (where he and his wife and some of their children live), and it was very well received. We used to go to water parks like ours and we really thought it was something we would like to do. As I said, the kids are off the phone and they have an opportunity for some physical activity and can spend time with their family. We talked all winter about how much fun we had visiting other water parks and we decided this was something we wanted to try.”
After their successful year in Niagara, Mindemoya rose to the top of the list for their second location, said Mr. Stonier.
“We opened in Mindemoya on June 30 and have been very well received by local residents, tourists and parents,” he said. “Resorts, Airbnbs and camps, they were all really receptive and felt that it would draw more tourism in.”
Splashtown provided free passes to all these venues to hand out to their customers.
“We want to be a part of the community,” said Mr. Stonier. He will be staying in Mindemoya for some of this summer, as the family normally does. “We sponsored skating at the local (Mindemoya) arena, for skating for kids during the March break, and we had volunteers on hand at the Lions Club Ribfest celebrations. And we are going to sponsor a team in minor hockey.”
His son Peyton is managing the Mindemoya location this summer.
The actual inflatable water park in Mindemoya, “is a moderate-medium design,” Mr. Stonier said. “But it will be larger and much bigger next year. It looks as if we are going to change the whole design and it will be twice as big as it is this year.”
Splashtown has a five-year agreement with the Municipality of Central Manitoulin to have the inflatable water park located at Lake Mindemoya, off the Government Dock beach. Mr. Stonier commended Marcus Mohr, Central Manitoulin’s community development/ outreach coordinator, for his work. “Marcus is like everyone’s best friend. He’s very genuine, helped with maintenance issues. Marcus has been great to us.”
Splashtown Manitoulin will run until August 27. For more information including rates, visit their website at splashtown.ca.
