Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Greater Napanee will look to chase the cold weather blahs away on Feb. 1 when they host their annual Winter Chill Festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the North Fred Lifestyle Centre.
Children’s entertainer John Park will perform his ‘funny waiter show’ from 11a.m. to noon followed by face painting, horse drawn wagon rides, craft tables, stories and Lego fun hosted by the Lennox and Addington Library and an outdoor marshmallow roast, supervised by GNES firefighters.
Park’s comedy routine includes food, drink, music and more, capped with his ‘plate spinner’ trick, balancing nine spinning plates on poles.
This year will mark a new location for the event, offering a mix of indoor and outdoor activities-weather permitting.
“One of the appeals of having this event over at the North Fred Lifestyle Centre is that we have access to the outdoor fields but also the indoor facilities in case it is really cold,” said Kelsey Pearson, special events clerk with the Town of Greater Napanee. “We tried to have a bit of a balance between activities that are indoor and outdoor this year.”
Should there be enough snow, organizers plan to construct the popular ‘snow mountain’ for kids to climb and slide down. There are also plans for a snow sculpture demonstration by a local artist if there is enough of the white stuff.
The annual Winter Chill Festival has had several homes over the years, moving from Market Square to Dundas Street to the Strathcona Paper Centre to Conservation Park last year. This will mark the first time it will be held at the North Fred, which has been recently refurbished and updated and now houses several of the town’s programs.
The North Fred Lifestyle Centre is located at 1178 County Road 8 in Greater Napanee. Parking is available at the centre but there will also be an ongoing free shuttle from the Strathcona Paper Centre and Greater Napanee’s town hall running throughout the day.