43rd Willow Winter Carnival planned

If it is mid-winter, it's cold and you are in Willow, chances are you are having fun at the Willow Winter Carnival.

This year the carnival is Jan. 30-Feb. 1 and Feb. 6-8, with the theme, "The Year of the Snowman."

The "normal" winter is a nice departure from recent winters, and the calendar is full of events that celebrate winter in Alaska, from dog mushing to snowboarding.

The headquarters of the event is the Willow Community Center, located at Mile 69.7 Parks Hwy. For two weekends, the center will live up to its name, bringing people together for a warm time in a cold place.

The carnival kicks off with a prime rib dinner on Jan. 30 at 6:30 p.m., but that's only the beginning. During the next two weekends, there will be an arts and crafts show, children's game, an ice cream eating contest, the U.S. Air Force Band will perform, a dessert auction, pool tournaments, a quilting contest, a chili cookoff and a blood drive.

And those are just the indoor events. To really get into the carnival, you have to bundle up and head outside.

There will be a snowboarding contest, an outhouse challenge race, the Earl Norris Open Class dog race, the Don Bowers Memorial race (an Iditarod qualifier), kids' dog races, a canine weight pull event, an ice fishing tournament and even a Paul Bunyan competition, in which participants will test their talents in events like wood chopping, ax throwing, chain saw cutting, cross-cut sawing and Swede sawing.

For more information about any of the events, or for more information in general, interested people can call 495-6633.