Three Towns Celebrate Winter Weekend
Bonfire, Snowman Burning To Begin Snowsfest Friday
Cedarville Site of Weekend Festival

Members of Joanna Izzard's art class at Cedarville High School (from left) Brett LaLonde, Eric Kozma (holding the fish he made), Brandon Warner (behind), Emily Winberg, Alice Coyne, Brittany Kelley, Luke Murray, and Austin Bright work on a giant paper snowman Monday, February 12, before Snowsfest. The figure will be burned at the traditional Snowfest snowman burning and bonfire Friday night, February 16. Austin Bright designed this year's snowman, an ice fisherman in a plaid coat with a wool hat.

"Wintertime Fun" will be celebrated at the annual Les Cheneaux Snowsfest this weekend, starting with a roaring bonfire and snowman burning Friday night, February 16. Snowsfest will be held in Cedarville this year, with most activities based at the warm-up tent in downtown Cedarville throughout the weekend. The three-day event will end Sunday, February 18, with cardboard box sled races at the Les Cheneaux Community Schools sledding hill in Cedarville.

Events include a hot dog roast Friday night and pancake breakfast Saturday morning at the Les Cheneaux Snowmobile Club on Blind Line Road in Cedarville. The clubhouse can be reached by car or snowmobile. Snowmobile club members will lead a snowmobile safari to the club Friday night at 7:30 from the snowman burning, which gets underway beside Cedarville Bay at 7. Father Sebastian Chacko, pastor of Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church in Hessel, will bless snowmobiles before they embark on the trip.

Snow statues, winter window decorations, and wooden Snow Buddies will be judged Friday at 5 p.m. Anyone who wants to register their home or business decorations should do so by calling the Les Cheneaux Welcome Center at (906) 484-3935. Snowbuddies, wooden snowman forms that can be painted and decorated, are available at the Welcome Center and First National Bank, Les Cheneaux Branch, for $10 each.

Saturday's activities will include the Snowmobile Club's pancake breakfast at 7 a.m., followed by a Snowsfest children's story hour at Les Cheneaux Community Library, poker run registration, U.P. N' Smoke concessions, and annual craft show, all starting at 10 a.m. This year's craft show will be at the Les Cheneaux Community Schools cafeteria in Cedarville. The poker run, perhaps one of Snowsfest's most popular events with as many as 170 contestants, will take participants to businesses in DeTour Village, Hessel, Cedarville, St. Ignace, and Moran. Directions and a list of participating businesses will be available at the registration station in the Snowsfest tent. The run will end at Snows Bar and Grill in Cedarville between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Events continue Saturday morning with a snow hut building demonstration, snow golf, horse drawn sleigh rides, dog sled rides, and the hotly contested chili cook off, all starting inside or near the tent in downtown Cedarville. The public is invited to taste all of the chili recipes for $3, which will give each sampler two votes to cast. Grand prize in the homemade chili division is $50 and a gift basket. Grand prize in the commercial division includes a plaque and bragging rights.

A clay pigeon shoot Saturday will also start at 11 a.m. at Les Cheneaux Sportsman's Club east of Cedarville.

Children's games will start at 11:15 a.m. and continue through 12:30 p.m., giving people time to prepare for the second annual Snowshoe Hare Race at 1 p.m. Reserve snowshoes free of charge by calling (906) 484-4157 or by visiting Woods and Water Ecotours in Hessel. Limited equipment is available. Snowshoes of any construction are allowed. Trekking or ski poles are also permitted. The race is for people ages 10 and older. There are seven age divisions, including ages 10-14, ages 14-17, ages 18-29, ages 30-39, ages 40-49, ages 50-59, and ages 60 and older. All divisions will race at the same start time. Prizes will be awarded.

A cross-country ski tour will be offered at the Peek-A-Boo Trail on West State Avenue in Cedarville, off Blind Line Road, starting at 1:30 p.m. The tour will be guided, and takes participants through Cedarville's only cross-country ski trail, which winds through public land, under towering pines, and to the top of one the area's tallest hills.

Adog show at 2 p.m. allows dog owners to bring their pets to show off the best costumes, tricks, and ability to run an obstacle course. A new division for the best name has been added this year.

Clark Township Emergency Services volunteers will perform a winter rescue demonstration at 2:30 p.m. If conditions allow, they will show how they rescue people who fall through the ice.

A list of events is on Page 6 and Page 7 of this issue.

This is the 44th annual winter celebration in the Les Cheneaux Islands, where the event got its start as an air sleigh race in 1960, evolved into a Winter Carnival as other activities were added, and became Snowsfest when it was revived in the late 1980s. The Les Cheneaux Chamber of Commerce sponsors the event, and a volunteer Snowsfest Committee coordinates activities. Snowsfest buttons give spectators access to all events and contests, however, some charge additional fees.