TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Magic Mountain ski resort missed its entire season this year due to a lack of snow, leaving co-owner Suzette Miller and her family facing serious financial strain after investing roughly $100,000 in upgrades before the season began.
WATCH: Community rallies to support owners of Magic Mountain
"We kept thinking... right around the corner we're going to get a storm .... we're going to open... and we just never did," Miller said.
Miller described that the toll extended beyond finances, "The emotions, the depression, the worry...the stress... It's just been very stressful."
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Now, the Magic Valley community is stepping in. A benefit dinner is scheduled for Thursday, May 7, featuring a live auction, silent auction, food from local restaurants, and a DJ — all organized by Lyndsi Peterson, a Magic Valley native who grew up skiing on the very mountain she is now working to save.
"We're doing a benefit dinner - we've got a live auction, we've got an amazing lineup for food, we have a silent auction, we're going to have a DJ so it's going to be a really great – fun night," Peterson shared.
Peterson said her personal connection to Magic Mountain made organizing the event feel like a calling.
"I learned to ski on Magic Mountain, I in fact took lessons on Magic Mountain... So, I just have a lot of really fond memories there as a kid," Peterson reminisced.
The response from the community has been overwhelming.
"It has honestly filled my cup...to see so many locals and so many people across the valley just want to pour themselves into this event," Peterson said.
Auction items have been donated by local businesses and families, and food is being supplied by competing local restaurants — a show of unity that has not gone unnoticed by the Millers, who have long been on the giving end of community support.
Miller told Idaho News 6 the support has meant everything, "We're so thankful, and we're so grateful, we're so humbled that somebody would even think of doing this for our family."
Tickets to Thursday's dinner are sold out, but Peterson noted there are still ways to participate and help the event reach its goal of $35,000.
"There is also a silent auction online, so you can donate there, you could view the silent auction and still bid and be a part of it," Peterson said.
For more information on the fundraiser, Click Here.
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