It’s going to be a bad few months to be a picnic table.
Goon Gear, the snowboard brand from Vermont legend Lucas Magoon, is going on tour yet again, and there are a few new stops along the way. The tour will close out in April at Maine’s Saddleback Mountain. Here’s the full lineup:
December 28 – Snow Ridge – Turin, New York
January 5 – Bousquet Mountain – Pittsfield, Massachusetts
January 11 - Pine Knob – Independence, Michigan|
January 18 – Ski Gull – Cass County, Minnesota
January 25 – Trollhaugen - Dresser, Wisconsin
February 1 – Frisco Rail Yard - Frisco, Colorado
February 7 - Kingvale Resort - California
February 15 - Lee Canyon Ski Area - Las Vegas, Nevada
April 5 – Saddleback – Rangely, Maine
Photo: Lucas and Tonya Magoon
Lucas’ wife Tonya is typically with the Goon Jam Tour every step of the way. She took some time to answer some questions for Snowboarder.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
First of all, what's going on? How's the family doing? How's (your daughter) Winter?
"We are all very good, just getting over a super busy summer and getting ready for the Goon Jam Tour. Winter is amazing. She’s about to turn 7 in a couple weeks."
From an outsider's perspective, it's been pretty cool watching her grow up year after year in the Goon Gear video drops.
"Wait until you see our new movie Racknstack. We just did our Darkside premiere up in Vermont. Doing another premiere in Tahoe December 13 and New York City December 21. The movie should be online at the end of December."
Goon Jam year 4 is coming up. How're you feeling?
"Great! This year we added a second stop in the Midwest, Ski Gull in Minnesota. So we have a total of nine stops across the country."
How has the tour evolved over time?
"The tour at its core has remained exactly the same. The goal is to get the communities from each area together for a day of just snowboarding with friends. No judging. The top three people that stood out for the whole day win a ton of amazing prizes from our sponsors. It did evolve in size, growing from five stops to nine."
What can we expect from the tour this time around?
"Same as every time- just a fun session on a really fun park set up."
Can we talk coffee for a second? What was the inspiration behind starting Manitou? How's that venture going, and what have you learned along the way?
"Lucas and I just love coffee. I go to a ton of events in the summer and when they say they serve coffee its usually just a food truck with a coffee pot. I go to events and bring in a full mobile coffee shop. Espresso machine and all. It’s going very well. I wish I had someone that could run it for me while on the tour to tell you the truth!"
What's been the most surprising thing about Manitou so far?
"It takes a lot of work to make good coffee."
Anything else we should know?
"Goon Jam Tour lineup is now released and available on our Instagram @goongear. Hope to see all of you there!
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