No one needed sunscreen Saturday night, Aug. 12, as the village of Ballston Spa’s municipal pool opened at night for a swimming under the stars event.
The once-a-year event brought about 400 water enthusiasts to the pool, which was open from 8 p.m. to midnight.
With a chill in the air, most of the splashing in the pool came from kids bopping around beach balls, although a few brave parents went in and tried to stay dry above the waist.
The first 250 people through registration at a picnic table received free T-shirts with glow-in-the-dark stars. Lots of kids put on the shirts to warm up after their dip. All attendees were offered free hot dogs, hamburgers and chips. Outside the pool’s fence, a grill roared for toasting marshmallows.
This is just the best night, said Aubrey Thomas, 12, her marshmallow poised over a small flame. `I’m trying not to burn it, but it’s hard to see in the dark.`
A disc jockey blasted tunes, including the ever-popular `Macarena` and `Electric Slide` before breaking out the karaoke.
`This is one of our best family events,` said organizer Meg Stevens, who is also a candidate for Milton’s town council. `The T-shirts were gone in the first half hour. We’ll go through hundreds of hamburgers and at least 20 bags of marshmallows.`
The pool was decorated with strings of white lights and huge stars. Bugs danced in the glow of enormous stadium lights with whining generators to keep the pool area well-lit for the lifeguards working overtime.
A line snaked from the diving board as kids flipped and belly flopped into the deep end. Kids who hadn’t seen their schoolmates since June shared their early back-to-school woes.
`It isn’t like it’s the end of the summer,` said Frankie McGovern, 13. `There’s still plenty of time left to swim.`
Then, shivering, he dove into the water and proclaimed it `very warm.“