A gigantic snowman at 4008 Wainman Line is the talk of the town.
Hilda Denboer and her husband, Doug, spent almost three weeks crafting the spectacular snow creation on their Severn Township property.
“We were kind of waiting around for some wet snow for packing but it sort of never came, so we had to put in a little more work, which took a little longer,” Denboer said.
The snowman depicts Olaf from the movie Frozen.
“Olaf is such a fun snowman. He is a giver of love, he’s funny, and a real sweetheart,” Denboer said.
The snowman was, in part, created for Severn’s January snowman challenge, but the main inspiration behind the project was giving people a reason to smile during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are living in such troubled times. There are a lot of people with kids who aren’t working right now, so we just want to help brighten some spirits,” Denboer said.
“Everybody that drives by stops to take a photo and says we made them smile, which just lights up my day.”
Denboer recently decided to use the giant snowman as a way to give back to the community in the form of raising money for Building Hope, the campaign to build a new homeless shelter and services hub in Orillia.
“Somebody came by yesterday and suggested that we should do some kind of a fundraiser, and we are big supporters of Building Hope, so we decided to tie that into this,” she explained.
Denboer is asking people to make a donation on behalf of the snowman project to Building Hope, which can be done here.
“Even if it helps raise a little bit of money, every little bit helps. It gives what we’ve done a deeper meaning,” she said.
