BROWNSVILLE, Vermont ??” Special saving packages, activities for kids and teens, plus a self-contained mountain with 100 percent slopeside lodging are just some of the reasons why families choose Ascutney Mountain Resort for their Presidents’ Week ski vacation.

“Everyone is happy here, and there is something for everyone at every age and level,” said Adrian Boland of Rockville Center, N.Y. “Having a general store right by is so convenient and so is the pool.”

Boland is part of a group of families that makes an annual pilgrimage to Ascutney during Presidents’ Week. The kids have become known as the Kids’ of Presidents’ Week (that’s what the kids call themselves). Boland said there have been years where there are about 10 families that all ski and ride together during Presidents’ Week. She said the resort is close and convenient enough that while they enjoy the week, other families come up and join them for the long weekend. Plus since all trails on the mountain feed into the main base lodge area, parents can relax and not worry about losing their kids on the mountain but the kids still have independence to ski without their parents.

The 2006 Presidents’ Week includes special activities like torchlight parades, Cheddar’s Happy Hour (for younger children), fireworks, bonfires, and a $1,000 snowball toss contest sponsored by Kiss 108 Winter Games plus other special events to highlight Ascutney’s 60th season.

At the hub of all the week’s activity is the Hotel Village, where teens congregate, and gives parents the peace of mind that their kids are in a safe, fun environment. All activities horseshoe around the frozen Village Pond and tubing hill creating a winter amphitheater-style area and an after-hours recreational village scene. Guests who walk out of the hotel and down the staircase to the pond will hear laughter, music and the simple sounds of a winter ski vacation.

The Bumps Teen Center is an exclusive club for teens only, featuring state of the art video games, billiards and all the right music. It is open nightly and offers live DJ music every Saturday and select midweek dates during holiday periods. The Center is conveniently located on the second floor of the hotel, just steps away from the village center and minutes from the outer condo buildings and restaurants.

Last year’s introduction of an In-House Movie Theatre proved to be a huge hit with teens as well as an activity for the whole family. The Alpine Cinema plays up-to-date family movies every Saturday night and select dates during holiday periods and includes a high-tech DVD movie projection system with theatre sound. The cinema is located on the ground level of the hotel adjacent to the Village Pond and tubing hill.

Sidewinders Arcade and Game Room is located on the ground level of the hotel adjacent to the Village Pond and Biscotti’s Caf?В©. There’s everything from pinball to video games. Outside, teens will find the outdoor tubing hill where tubers fly straight across the frozen pond with a sizzling bonfire nearby. The nearby Sports & Fitness Center offers an Olympic-sized indoor heated pool for swimming, racquetball and basketball courts, a weight room, or just a place to hang out and relax.

Packages for Presidents’ Week start at $158 per person and include slopeside lodging, lift tickets and all resort amenities including the use of the Fitness Center & New Spa, cross-country & snowshoe trails, tubing hill and more. For reservations and information, guests should call 800.243.0011 or visit ascutney.com.