RED LAKE — The winter carnival will be back on in Red Lake.
The organizing committee for the Red Lake winter carnival is excited to put on the event after cancelling it the past two years.
Michelle Hiscox, the economic development officer at Chukuni Communities Development Corporation and a member of the volunteer committee, said people are excited about the event, which will take place over the Family Day weekend from Feb. 17 and 20.
“The organizing groups and the food vendors, the response from the groups was immediate. Everybody was on board, organizing their activities and just really excited to get it back out into the community,” she said. “We've just recently started sharing activities on Facebook and the response has been amazing from the public, like people are ready to come out and participate.”
Hiscox said Evolution Mining is a major sponsor of the event.
She said the planned events include the Red Lake District Master Trail Masters annual snowmobile derby, pancake and crepe breakfasts, ice bike family activities, the Red Lake francophone association’s sugar shack, a pub and music night by the Patricia players at the Red Lake Legion, and the Fritz Bartelt Loppet.
As well, the carnival will also include a cardboard box race take place at the Red Lake Regional Heritage Centre, where racing sleds must be made entirely of cardboard with exception of a plastic bag for sliding.
Another key location for the Winter Carnival is Howey Bay, Hiscox said.
“It's [a] perfect location. It's beautiful. It showcases the area and everybody loves to be outside doing all of these different activities right now,” she said. “Everybody loves the outdoor atmosphere.”
Hiscox said Howey Bay is the location of the popular pond hockey tournament, which will run on the Sunday of the weekend.
Registration forms for teams will soon be available at the Howey Motel, she said.
Most of the events are set, Hiscox said, but people should check out the Winter Carnival Facebook page for updates.
The article was updated to reflect sponsorship of the event.
