Temperatures may be a few degrees below freezing on Saturday, but Centre Region Parks and Recreation and Harris Township are giving community members a good way to get outside and make the most of it.
The inaugural Winter Carnival at Blue Spring Park in Boalsburg will be held from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, and as CRPR recreation supervisor explains, ‘We’re going to have a little bit of everything.’
Lee said that CRPR director Pam Salokangos was looking to offer some new opportunities, particularly at a time of the year when not as much was happening at the parks.
‘We have access to so many parks and we figured what a great time to get people outside,’ Lee said. ‘It may be cold, it may be gray, it may even be a little snowy, but there are so many fun things you can do.’
Among the reasons Blue Spring Park was selected is that it’s the site of an outdoor ice rink. Provided Mother Nature cooperates and the rink is able to be used, several activities are planned to take advantage of it.
It looks like those events will happen, too, with a chilly temperatures the day before and a forecasted high of 29 degrees on Saturday, according to AccuWeather.
If the ice rink is available, a community broomball game will be played at around 3 p.m. and hockey shot and hockey horse games will be offered — no skates required. Before and after those activities will be time for free skating for those who want to bring their own skates.
The carnival also will have geocaching activities, a ‘Find Olaf the Snowman’ scavenger hunt, a snowy winter photo booth and plenty of family games, including wintry twists on soccer, baseball and croquet.
A craft station will let visitors make natural bird feeders to tie to the trees, so birds that live in the park have food throughout the winter.
Harris Township and Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts are providing warming barrels and s’more kits will be available for purchase.
Community feedback in anticipation of the carnival has been positive, Lee said, with 872 people interested in its Facebook event as of Tuesday. CRPR and Harris Township staff are looking forward to it, too.
‘We’re excited. We’ve heard from a lot of people that they’re excited to have something to do on a February Saturday when it could be just gray or cold,’ Lee said. ‘We’re just hoping a lot of folks come out, and we really want to thank the volunteers we have and everybody else who has helped to make this a success.’
For more details and updates, visit the carnival’s Facebook event here.
