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COLD PLAY

Ely’s winter party is in full swing

Keith Vandervort
Posted 2/11/16

ELY – Ely’s biggest winter party continues this weekend. The 2016 Winter Festival features 10 days of outdoor and indoor fun including snow carvings in the park, art in merchant windows all …

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COLD PLAY

Ely’s winter party is in full swing

Posted

ELY – Ely’s biggest winter party continues this weekend. The 2016 Winter Festival features 10 days of outdoor and indoor fun including snow carvings in the park, art in merchant windows all around town, food, music, dancing winter sports, and activities for the whole family.

Activities are planned all over town through Sunday night.

Snow carvers from around the world filled Whiteside Park with their works of art at the Snow Sculpting Symposium. Carvers from Canada, Mexico and across the United States left a temporary impression, removing parts of blocks of snow to reveal giant sculptures. With any luck, they will last many weeks after the Winter Festival is done.

The Northern Lakes Arts Association Amateur Snow Carving Contest is also on display in the park.

Many events are scheduled for the second weekend of Winter Festival.

A snowshoe trek to Sigurd Olson’s Listening Point on Burntside Lake will be held Friday, Feb. 12, from 4 p.m. to sunset. Bring a headlamp for this one-mile trip to Sig’s cabin. Another trip is scheduled for Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Each trip is limited to 10 participants. Call Peta at 612-859-4769 for more information.

The Ely Folk School features many activities, such as snowshoe weaving class and contra dancing. A Winter Festival Dance will be held Friday night from 7-10 p.m. at the Folk School, 209 E. Sheridan St., featuring Friends on the Range, to play music and call the dances.

The Dorothy Molter Museum is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. this weekend. Their annual fundraising dinner will be held on Feb. 12 at the Grand Ely Lodge. Call 365-4451 for more information.

The Front Porch Coffee and Tea Co. is sponsoring a birding field trip on Saturday,Feb. 13 beginning at 9 a.m. Call 235-9808 to register.

A broomball tournament, sponsored by the Ely Area Jaycees, will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday at the Ely Rec Center, 1034 Main Street. Call 365-7611 to register a team.

A WolfTrack Classic preview will be held Saturday at Whiteside Park from noon to 3 p.m. A special showing of a competitive sled dog race team will be featured, along with information about the race, planned for later this month.

Voyageur Outward Bound staff will be leading a snowshoe hike on Saturday from 1-3 p.m. to Hegman Lake to view ancient pictographs. Call 828-239-2376 to register.

The Cabin Fever Extravaganza Talent Show also returns this year. The event will be held at Washington School Auditorium on Saturday, beginning at 7 p.m.

The Ely Flower and Seed Co. is sponsoring an outdoor skating rink at Whiteside Park. The rink is open to the public. A figure skating program featuring the Babbitt Figure Skating Club and a sneak peek of their annual show will be held at the Whiteside rink on Sunday, Feb. 14 from 1-2 p.m.

The Ely Nordic Ski Club will host a Ski by Candlelight event from 6-9 p.m. on Sunday at Hidden Valley Ski Area.

The festival wraps up Sunday night with a concert by Irene Hartfield, starting at 7 p.m. at the Vermilion Community College Fine Arts Theater.

For a complete list of events, checkout the website at www.elywinterfestival.com, or call the festival hotline, 365-SNOW (7669).