Winterfest brings old favourites to town
By Chris Simon

All the old favourites will be back as Innisfil's annual Winterfest celebration returns Feb. 22 to 24.

The three day winter festival will feature the Mayor's Tyke Challenge hockey tournament upon the shores of Lake Simcoe at Innisfil Beach Park, a polar bear dip and a comedy and dance evening at the Stroud Arena. There will even be a pancake breakfast, said deputy mayor and Innisfil Community Events Corporation representative Gord Wauchope.

"We just keep doing the events we do and hope that the weather cooperates," he said.

Winterfest gives families something to do during the grey days of February, said Wauchope.

"It's fun. Hockey starts with the little kids, that's why we decided to put the tyke tournament on," he said. "That's part of the thrill, seeing the little guys outdoors playing hockey where it was originally done. (It's great) to see people get out and enjoy winter. There are fun times to be had in the winter."

The event will kick off with a family skate at the Innisfil Recreation Complex Friday from 7 to 9 p.m. Admission is $2 per person.

On Saturday, the pancake breakfast will take place at the Lions Hall in Alcona from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. The hockey tournament will start at 10 a.m., while the comedy and dance night will begin in Stroud at 8 p.m. Tickets for the comedy and dance night, which include three comedians, the local band Stormfront and a buffet, will cost $25 per person, said Wauchope.

"Tyke players from throughout the area will play for a trophy that was sponsored by mayor (Brian) Jackson There will be three or four games of hockey Saturday morning," said Wauchope. "We've got the dance Saturday night, along with the comedy. It's going to be a great show."

On Sunday, the hockey tournament finals will take place at about 11 a.m. All games are scheduled to take place at Innisfil Beach Park. If the outdoor ice is too poor, the tournament will be moved to Stroud, said Wauchope.

The polar bear dip will also take place at the park on Sunday, beginning at 1:30 p.m. So far, about 20 people have signed up for the plunge, he said.

"We've asked the people that are jumping to go and get pledges," said Wauchope. "It's quite an event down there on Sunday afternoon. We have a lot of people come back and do it year after year."

Proceeds from Winterfest will be donated towards the new recreation complex.

Although the festival is supposed to be a celebration of winter, several events have actually been cancelled because of this year's unstable weather conditions. Organizers had hoped to include a radar run and ice sculptures as part of the festivities, said Wauchope.

"We had to cancel our radar runs because the lake is not safe. You'd have a lot of people out there with machines. We're hoping next year will be a lot better," he said. "You can't depend on the weather this year, it's cold for a couple of days and then it gets mild."