Via Community News Service, a Mount Saint Joseph Academy internship, for Lakes Region Living
RUTLAND — Winterfest is taking over Rutland this Friday through Tuesday, featuring dozens of community events and activities in collaboration with more than 40 local partners. The tradition has been alive for over two decades and is once again being hosted by Come Alive Outside.
Arwen Turner, executive director of Come Alive Outside, spoke about Winterfest and the upcoming activities that come with it.
“(Winterfest is) a four-day, community-led celebration,” Turner said. “Every year there are exciting additions.”
Turner said the purpose of these events is to bring the community together, give kids fun and safe activities to partake in, and for people to try new things.
One of these exciting additions is the L.L. Bean Bootmobile — a giant boot-shaped vehicle — which will be visiting a few of the events, bringing games like cornhole and oversized Jenga.
There are other events being continued from previous years, such as Center Street Night Sledding on Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m. For this event, Center Street is closed off and a huge sledding hill is made. This is for people of all ages to have a fun evening.
The Snow Sculpting Vermont State Qualifier is also being brought back for another year, where teams create snow sculptures and compete to see whose is best. The event kicks off on Friday afternoon in Depot Park, and spectators can watch the creations come to life until the final event during the Chili Cook-Off on Sunday.
All events are free or low cost, so the whole community can enjoy.
Another fun event that Winterfest is bringing back is Curling for Everyone, to take place at the Giorgetti Athletic Complex on Saturday from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. This is a fun event for people who “want to curl like an Olympian,” Turner said.
There will also be Human Foosball at Center Street Marketplace Park on Sunday from 1 to 8 p.m. Turner described it as a “life-sized version of foosball with tournaments for all age groups.”
Winterfest and all of the events that come along with it take a whole community to make possible. There are many events and activities that take a variety of people and talents to make them happen.
“I would like to thank everyone in the community that makes this possible!” Turner said.
For a full calendar of events, visit rutlandwinterfest.com.