We’re just so lucky and so blessed to have a county support us, the owners of the lake support us and the people support us.” There’s been a lot of joy, which makes me so proud. “What made me really happy is that our park became a central meeting point,” she said. ![]() Being a part of Mariposa County, which had some of the fewest coronavirus cases in the entire state of California, they were able to remain open throughout 2020, which she feels made a positive impact in the community. In the park’s near five years of existence, they have welcomed over 20,000 different guests, according to their official database.Įven as the number of visitors has steadily increased over the years, the moments that continue to stand out most to Gathman-Kent were in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. They also implemented dash tracks this year, which are two identical, 155-foot-long relay race strips. It also has a 33-foot-long launching blob on it. This year, they added the Big Boy, which has two slides that accommodate four people at a time. The Big Girl has three slides on it and two jumping platforms and a rock wall. Her plan was approved, and the family hasn’t turned back since.Įvery year, they try to add something new to the park. By federal law, they have to offer parks and recreation, so I took my business plan to the Board of Directors,” she explained. I found out that it was owned by Merced Irrigation District, who also owned the dam. “I just started researching and I picked McSwain. One of the lakes she stumbled across was Lake McSwain. I had visited like seven or eight lakes.” ![]() “So, one morning I woke up at 4:30 in the morning and I just told my husband I’ll be back and I didn’t come back until 2:30 the next morning. ![]() “I got so frustrated because I have this business plan and I knew this was going to be great, but I couldn’t find a body of water to put it on,” Gathman-Kent said. She then set her sights on Millerton Lake, but quickly discovered similar issues with water levels. She first thought of starting her business on Shaver Lake, but a lack of parking and the constant fluctuation of water levels ruled it out. ![]() At the time, the family found themselves living in Fresno after Kent, who was serving in the Air Force, was transferred to the city. Though the two had the vision, finding the perfect location was not the easiest of tasks. It was then that she and her husband, Jalance Kent, decided to take the leap of making the largest inflatable waterpark in North America. Gathman-Kent’s research revealed that there were only about three others in the country. “I was amazed by it and wondered if there was anything similar in the United States.” “I was looking online and I happened to stumble across a picture of an inflatable waterpark in Australia,” she said. The mind behind the Splash-N-Dash is Mary Gathman-Kent, who explained that the idea for an inflatable waterpark stemmed from seeing similar attractions in other countries. The waterpark is more than 125 thousand square feet and features a modular system of more than 80 inflatables on the lake for those young and old to enjoy. Since 2018, Snelling has been home to one of the most popular summer attractions in the 209 region with the Splash-N-Dash inflatable waterpark along Lake McSwain.
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