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• Wednesday, February 03, 2016

  Morrisonville Post Hosts 3-Day Winterfest

  MORRISONVILLE — American Legion Post 1619 is hosting its annual three-day Winterfest in this Clinton County community to raise money for veterans’ assistance and to honor corrections and police officers.

  The festival runs Friday to Sunday, Feb. 5-7.

  The Sun Community News reports that new activities this year include a curling competition, demonstrations from the National Guard — such as a climbing wall, softball throw and Humvee simulator — and the Abominable Adventure Race for kids 12 and under.

  

  Children get set to release balloons in honor of veterans at a previous Winterfest.

  Other kid-friendly events include a balloon release designed to honor veterans, horse and wagon rides and all manner of winter sports, including ice skating and sliding with a motorized rope-tow (Festival mascot Ice Chip the Chipmunk will also be on hand).

  Old favorites like bonfires and live music continue to be a central part of the event, which is now in its ninth year, the newspaper reported.

  Organizers also cited curling as a premier attraction. Forty teams will participate, with 16 of the 32 stones coming from the Tupper Lake Civic Center.

  “It takes an army of volunteers to prepare and make the event happen,” chief organizer Irene Rock told the Sun.

  Funds generated from a series of raffles, auctions and the sale of food — including the famous $1 Menu — will go towards associations that aid vets. Last year, $12,000 was raised, with funds going to a local veterans assistance fund and to the Fisher House at the Stratton VA in Albany.

  “If it were not for the veterans, we would not be allowed to have the freedoms that we have today,” Rock said.

  Organizers have selected the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOBA) as this year’s honorees.

  The group, who spent long hours searching for the two killers who escaped from Clinton Correctional last June, will be honored with an ice sculpture.

  The newspaper said that workers unloaded 12 tons of ice from Lake Flower in Saranac Lake. Weather permitting, they’ll be transformed into sculptures by this weekend.

  It all begins on Friday, Feb. 5 at 4 p.m. with the opening ceremony.