Four popular winter events will be promoted as one festival this year. The U.P. Winter Fest will be held over four weekends in a row, from February 13 through March 6, and include the U.P. Snow Softball Tournament and Tailgate February 13 and 14, U.P. Pond Hockey February 19 through 21, U.P. Youth Pond Hockey February 27 and 28, and the U.P. Ice Chip Golf Scramble March 6.

Combining these events will give potential visitors a choice from a wide range of activities over a range of dates and is expected to reduce promotional costs, say members of the St. Ignace Special Events Committee.

The Special Events Committee meets monthly to come up with new events, add to existing events, and bring more business to St. Ignace.

At the group's Thursday, November 5 meeting, members suggested additions to the winter festival, including an outdoor winter tailgate party and Valentine's Day specials to pair with the softball tournament, curling and other games during the hockey tournaments, alternative activities like a hike to the top of Rabbit's Back Peak, and indoor activities like a chili cook-off to offer visitors a warm haven during the outdoor events.

"Those are the little things that we need to bring in to these events to make them fun," said Mark Sposito, one of the planners.

The key to the past and future success of these winter-theme activities, he said, is that St. Ignace offers an atmosphere and an experience that cannot be gained anywhere else.

"This community has great hotels, restaurants, and snowmobile trails, but so do a lot of other communities," he said. "The biggest thing is, we need to set ourselves apart from those other communities."

"Twenty years ago, if somebody told me we would have four big winter events, I would have laughed," Chamber of Commerce Director Janet Peterson said. "It's really a great thing."

These events focus entirely on drawing participants and spectators over the four weekends, and there are no plans to create activities during the week to keep people in town, Mrs. Peterson said. The reason behind this, she said, is because it's difficult to draw people during the work week at that time of year.

"If people aren't available to travel Monday through Thursday, it doesn't matter what kind of event you have, they aren't going to come," Mrs. Peterson said.

Hockey Grows,

May Support Other Events

The U.P. Pond Hockey tournament, now in its fourth year, is expected to grow again in 2010. Labatt Blue, one of the sponsors, has asked organizers if they can accommodate 160 teams this year, 60 more than the 100 teams in 2009.

Last year, the tournament drew about 600 players. If 160 teams play, organizers expect about 1,000 players and crowds of at least 2,000 people.

Mr. Sposito said the tournament has reached the point where it can support itself and any growth now will help fund programs that can never fund themselves, like showing free movies in the summer in the downtown area.

"The whole goal is to have a few events that make money and help support the other events in the city," he said. "So far, these four events have pretty much funded themselves through entry fees."

Local Volunteers Needed

A need for the winter festival, organizers said, and indeed for all community events year-around, is a stronger volunteer base. Mr. Sposito said they need both workers and leaders, but he thinks some who could help don't realize that much of what needs to be done takes little or no special skills or training.

"Most of the volunteers we have right now are really maxed out," Mr. Sposito said. "I think there are maybe a lot of people who could help but are afraid or don't know what they can offer."

Volunteers who would be willing to take charge of one event, like the snow softball tournament or the ice chip golf cart contest, would be particularly appreciated, organizers said. The Special Events Committee is also considering assigning one of its members the task of tracking down and signing up such volunteers.

Anyone who wants to contribute time or ideas is welcome to join the Special Events Committee for its monthly meetings and may join the committee simply by volunteering, Mr. Sposito said.

"We are always interested in anybody's ideas," he said. "The more we can get involved in this, the merrier."

The Special Events Committee generally meets at 4 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month at the Mackinac Grille restaurant, and anyone interested in attending may call Mark Sposito at 643-7482 , the Chamber of Commerce at 643-8717, or the Visitors Bureau at 643-6950 to confirm the meeting times or to get more information.

Promotional Campaign

The Special Events Committee is considering doing away with asking businesses to sponsor individual events this year, hoping they will use that money instead to invest in a television campaign, Mr. Sposito said.

The local television advertising campaign, similar to one purchased for summer events this year, will promote the events in the six to eight weeks leading up to the final activity, the golf scramble on the ice of Moran Bay March 6. This July and August, the St. Ignace Chamber of Commerce paid $475 for 248, 30- second ads spread over two months. The ads consisted of pictures and text promoting local events and attractions

For winter advertising, the group plans a standard beginning and end for the ads that will promote a visit to St. Ignace, and insert specific information about events and businesses in between.

The Special Events Committee is asking local businesses to buy into the campaign and advertise their own business and any specials they may offer during the events.

"We are looking for the businesses to be part of this and to grow with the events," said Mr. Sposito.

Mrs. Peterson said the group would like to start running the advertisements the first week of January, although some work still needs to be done to finalize the campaign and coordinate with businesses.