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Winterfest to heat up Family Day Weekend

A full lineup of events for Sudbury's newest winter festival will heat up Family Day weekend Feb. 17-18.
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Sudbury Winterfest chair Rod Bazinet shows off a button that, for $5, will get its wearer into the inaugural two-day festival at Moonlight Beach. File photo.

A full lineup of events for Sudbury's newest winter festival will heat up Family Day weekend Feb. 17-18.

A local group is staking that claim as they gear up for the inaugural Sudbury Winterfest, an event that, above all else, is affordable for the entire family, a suitable gesture considering the two-day event happens during the February long weekend at Moonlight Beach in Sudbury.

Rod Bazinet, event chair, said the festival has “grown rapidly” since it was first launched at the beginning of December. The cost is $5 per button, and buttons are needed to gain entry into the festival.

Gates open at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 17, and the festival will kick off with a bonfire followed by a torch-light parade at 7 p.m. from Science North to Moonlight Beach. Opening ceremonies get underway at 8:30 p.m., with a fireworks display at 9 p.m. Family skating starts at 6 p.m.

The festivities continue Feb. 18 starting at 11 a.m. with snowshoeing, skiing, sleigh rides, a children's winter playground, family skating, a chili cook-off and many more sights and sounds of the winter season.

The highlight of the festival will be the human dog sled race, in which teams fight against the one another and the clock in a dash to the finish line. Race participants will be working like “dogs” for their favourite charity. Team registrations, at $10 per person, are required for this event, and teams will collect pledges and compete for bragging rights of being the "Top Dogs," according to the website devoted to Winterfest.

Local charities stand to gain the most from Sudbury Winterfest. Bazinet and his crew are hoping to bring in about $20,000 for various organizations.

Festival buttons are on sale at many different locations in the community, including the Rainbow Centre information booth, Mimi's Jewelry, Cranky Joe's, KC Treats & Sweets, many Home Hardware locations, post offices, downtown Ti Amo and downtown Elmercado.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com.

Posted by Arron Pickard  


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