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Fantastic Fireworks Display was the Finale for Winterfest!

We were lucky once again - the 40 below zero weather of the week before "warmed" up to about "0" degrees (a heat wave)!  Needless to say everyone was as warmly dressed as possible! 

A welcome reception on Friday in the Lodge featured delicious spaghetti prepared by Chef Mr.K. and helped to warm those that were on their way to their cabins. A surprise arrival by long-distance member Randy with his new puppy "Barney" added to the cheer!

Saturday morning the Chef was hard at work whipping up a scrambled egg breakfast for all.  Once again Scott was willing to volunteer his expertise & vehicle (Ranger) to plow off the ice for the games to begin (I dont know if his face ended up being sun-burned or wind-burned, but as usual he had no complaints)! We all thank you immensely (no one would have wanted to shovel, thats for sure)!

Mr. Bill started the games off with the ice fishing tournament. Austin won for the biggest fish, Capt. Paul for the most fish & Parker won for the first fish caught!  Next it was "Ice Bowling" -sponsored by Bob & Kim. What a lot of fun - everyone got to try their hand at rolling the frozen bowling balls down the ice (you'd be surprised how fast you can bowl when you're freezing!).  Mr. Bill was a trooper - out in the cold keeping score & resetting the pins. In the end Randy got the highest score, Josh won the overall tournement in the adult division & Jed in the Junior division -Congrats to you all!

Holly sponsored a very fun and creative game of Snow Sculpturing.  As part of your sculpture she provided everyone with beautifully created "gems" of colored ice. Sculptures were judged on use of gems, teamwork, storyline, and creativity. Dakota's team including Miss Marie and Parker won best overall, and Ben got a Special Mention for best use of gems - great job guys!  Thanks so much for all the work that Holly put into her game (she even made ice CANDLES for everyone to enjoy in differant colors)!

Free-Style sledding was also a popular spectator sport - Connor took the best overall for his great style (and avoiding other sledders)! Thanks to Linda for overseeing the little ones and making sure they got to enjoy the snow with everyone else!

Throught the day, we all sampled the many differant chilis, soups, and hot dips that were part of the pot-luck cook-off.  We are very lucky to have some very good cooks among our membership!  The warm and hearty foods helped to warm up everyone's insides as they came in from the frosty games outside!

The evening's finale was a beautiful professional fireworks display.  We thank all the families that have donated throughout the year towards the fireworks display!it is because of your generousity that such a display is possible! The fireworks seemed close enough to touch and we all seemed to not notice the cold while we enjoyed them.

Sunday dawned with Mr. Bill's annual DownHill Skiing opener (thankfully no injuries to report & a fine performance!)! Then most everyone headed out to Duffy's in Galesville for INSIDE bowling (no frozen bowling balls today!). Duffy again donated a bowling pin for everyone to sign for the trophy case at the Lodge.  Duffy also set up some special games with green pins that added to the fun! Another fun time at Duffy's - we really appreciate the hospitality!

As we say Good-Bye to this year's Winterfest, we thank all that braved the cold, volunteered to help, sponsored games, fireworks, and shared their favorite recipes.  You all helped to make Winterfest a success and better year after year!(now lets hope for Spring!)