Snow a welcome sight for local winter carnival

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February 14, 2011

BY MICHELLE MILLER STAFF WRITER The Daily Star Mon Feb 14, 2011, 05:54 AM EST

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow _ because that doesn't keep people inside this time of year in Cooperstown.

The Cooperstown Winter Carnival has become a tradition and a way to shake off the winter blues. In its 45th year, the annual event brought community members together for the weekend, Friday through Sunday.

Event co-chairwoman Samantha Carr said the goal was to provide a fun-filled weekend and get people out and about during the winter. This year's theme was "Surf, Sun and Snow," and the event's logo had a snowman in a grass skirt that said "luau."

Among those bundled up Saturday trying to stay warm during the brisk, windy day was 9-year-old Chloe Mickels. She attempted to keep her balance on the mechanical surfboard set up in the parking lot at Doubleday Field.

"I snowboard, so it was kind of easy for me," she said while putting her shoes back on after taking a turn on the waves.

Chloe, of Fly Creek, said she was at the carnival with her mom and road in a float with fellow Girl Scouts earlier Saturday during the Tropical Paradise Parade.

Chloe said she looks forward to the festivities each year and enjoys going to see the SSPCA Dog Show.

Jyda and Brynn Karns brought their dog Bacca Doodles Darat to the dog show. They said it was their first time participating in the show and coming to the carnival.

The girls said they did not win anything at the show, but had a good time. They had their dog dressed in an arctic suit so it would stay warm.

Jyda, 5, and Brynn, 7, were with their dad, Adam, of Milford. He said he had not been to the carnival since he was a child.

Kamryn Koffer, 8, was attending activities with her family, who said they always look forward to the festivities at the winter carnival. Her mom, Kathleene, said the family enters the sled races each year and enjoys all the good food. Kamryn's younger sister Lauren, 6, said she liked the mechanical bull at last year's event.

The carnival has taken on several different themes throughout the years, but to stick with the tropical one this year, organizers said the mechanical surfboard was a better fit. According to Carr, the goal was to incorporate the "Surf, Sun and Snow," theme as much as possible.

For example, last year's Western-themed event featured a bean-eating contest, but to stick with the tropical theme, this year's winter carnival had a "Waikiki" watermelon-eating contest instead. Josh Karpott was the only adult participant, so he competed alongside the children and was named the automatic winner in the adult competition. Ana Buchhaolz, of Massachusetts, won the children's competition by eating seven pieces of watermelon in two minutes. Ana said this was her third time competing in a food-eating contest at the carnival. She said she won two years ago when chowing down on ribs and was beaten last year by Dylan Winsor, of Milford.

Carr said winter carnival committee members decided on a tropical theme because they thought it would be fun.

"Who doesn't want to visit a beach in the midst of the winter," she said. "We thought it would be family friendly and fun since it has been so cold."

Claire Nolan of Cooperstown said the winter carnival is "neat" because it not only gets people out of the house, but provides a variety of unique opportunities that one might not get to experience in the winter. For instance, the 10-year-old pointed to the mechanical surfboard and asked, how often can someone try to surf during this time of year without traveling far distances?

"It makes winter fun," she said. "It's almost like it is summer again."

After trying the mechanical surfboard, Claire said her next stop was the TREP$ Marketplace at the Cooperstown Middle/High School gymnasium to see her brother Luke, who was one of the students in the entrepreneurship program and was selling merchandise that afternoon.

Festivities were held at various locations around the village. New this year was The King Kamehameha Pig Roast. Returning after several years was a lip sync contest.

Carr said the Are You Smarter than a Cooperstown Fifth-Grader contest was a crowd pleaser last year, but instead of bringing the same contest back, the carnival committee chose to have a Cooperstown's Got Talent and Lip Sync contest instead. The talent portion was aimed for children and the lip sync for adults.

Last year was the first time Iceography was hired to create themed ice sculptures as part of winter carnival festivities. The company returned this year to make luau-themed ice sculptures in Pioneer Park.

Carnival activities wrapped up with a chili contest carnival closer at 3 p.m. at Brewery Ommegang's new cafe Sunday.

To see prize winners or more information about the carnival, visit the carnival website at cooperstowncarnival.org. Organizers said winners will be posted soon.