Welcome to the official site of the BIG Alum Lake Association; BALA. For those of us lucky enough to live around the shores of this beautifully, pristine Massachusetts’s Great Pond falls the stewardship of maintaining the Lake’s sparkling clear water and supporting the community of neighbors and visitors that enjoy these waters. This is the twin mission of BALA.
BALA is a non-profit, volunteer organization that, through it’s membership dues, fund raising efforts, and its volunteers’ time, helps keep the Lake clear of invasive weeds, algae, and other pollutants that can deteriorate the quality of its water. Working along side the Sturbridge Conservation Commission and Sturbridge Lakes Advisory Committee, our goal is to maintain the treed shoreline, and clear water of this Lake in as close an ecological state today as it was when Native Americans lived here, and called the lake “Pookhookapaug Pond”.
Our Lake Community is vibrant and steeped in the tradition of Big Alum Lake. Many residences’ family ties go back 50 years or more of lake living. Sturbridge’s central location has attracted many more residents from the surrounding area over the past years that now live here full-time or part-time. On any given day you can see neighbors from all around the lake walking the shore roads, or circumnavigating the pond by boat or barge. At BALA we strive to bring as many neighbors together for lake community enjoyment as often as possible. Year round activities, such as the BALA GALA, Winter Ugly Sweater Dinner, and summer Raft-Up lake parties create a congenial community environment that makes living on The Lake so special.
Please enjoy our site, peruse our lake history, read about our committees, and get to know Big Alum on a more intimate level. You’ll be glad you did.
BALA Board of Directors