60th annual Willow Winter Carnival wraps up a weekend of winter fun

Amid the aroma of fresh brewed coffee and confections, as people gathered, friends stopped to catch up, and children played on the massive snow mounds, the 60th annual Willow Winter Carnival was held this past weekend, and organizer Linda Oxley could not have been more pleased with the turnout.

“Every year, you aren’t sure what to expect, and this year with the weather and some changes we had, the community still came out. It was great,” Oxley said.

After COVID forced the carnival to be cancelled last year, organizers were excited to bring this community event back, using the changes forced by the pandemic to their advantage.

“We had to keep everything as low risk as we can make it for everyone, so we moved everything that we could outdoors,” Oxley said.

Keeping most events outdoors required the team to move the carnival to March rather than spread over two weekends in January and February as it has traditionally been held. The only events held indoors were the photo contest, pie and dessert auction, and the popular Bingo games.

The weather caused some last-minute changes to the events, including the cancellation of the ice sculpture display and the carnival rides for the kids, and there was concern for a large number of moose on some trails used for the foot races as the hungry moose haven’t been able to move as much this year to seek out food.

“We are grateful to the Newman family for providing the plowing along the trails, making sure they are safe,” Oxley said.

Another change was the addition of food trucks since the kitchen was closed due to pandemic concerns. There were plenty of local vendors on site, selling handmade jewelry, T-shirts, along with other assorted items that saw one woman excitedly doing her Christmas shopping early. One popular vendor was Robbie Carver, wielded his chainsaw to create works of art from raw wood as many carnival-goers stopped to watch him in action while his wife sold their pieces.

Other attractions were the vintage snowmobile parade, showing off classic Arctic Cat and Polaris snowmachine, among others. Another fun event was the blind snowmachine race, which required a certain amount of trust as the driver was blindfolded while the rider would guide them through the closed course.

The kids pike derby saw some good hauls including a pike that came in at 31 pounds. Meanwhile, other kids got to indulge in the ice cream eating contest as they fought off brain freeze. You may have even caught up with the 2022 Willow Winter Carnival King and Queen, affectionately known as Grandpa Norm and Grandma Jo.

As far as plans for next year’s carnival, Oxley said they will wait for feedback from the community before deciding to keep the carnival to March, or move it back to January and February, and she could not be more thankful to the team she had helping her.

“It is a remarkable, passionate team that makes this event work. And the community too, it takes a community to make the carnival, and we have a great one,” Oxley said.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Katie Stavick at katie.stavick@frontiersman.com