Willow Winter Carnival starts this weekend

The 63rd Annual Willow State Winter Carnival is Jan. 25 to Feb. 7 at the Willow Community Center.

There will be a variety of outdoor and indoor activities at this year’s event, including sled dog and snow machine races, a trade fair, live performances, a dessert auction and more. This year’s theme is “The Year of the Malamute,” and was selected by the community.

This winter tradition is held year after year and is the largest and most important fundraising opportunity for the Willow Area Community Organization (WACO).

The carnival will kick off with the start of the Su Dog 300 Sled Dog Race on Jan. 25. This is the first year that this Iditarod-qualifying race will be held in Willow.

The kitchen will be open during the day from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. The building and kitchen will reopen at 6 p.m. and bingo and pull tabs will start at 7 p.m. Brenda McCain, a winter carnival committee member, said that bingo is a heavily anticipated event each year.

“This is hugely popular here, where people even come up from Wasilla,” McCain said. “They only do it once per year and it is so huge…they fill the whole room full of tables.”

Su Dog 300 racers are expected to return during the afternoon and evening of Monday Jan. 27. The “Soup Dog” soup cook-off and tasting will be held for those watching the finish of the race. Soup tasting is $5 per person. A banquet for the Su Dog 300 winners will be held on Tuesday Jan. 28 and the public is encouraged to participate.

The majority of the festivities will start on Friday Jan. 31. Carnival parking is $1 per carload and admission is free. Everyone that attends will receive a door prize ticket. A quick art draw and silent art auction will start at 5 p.m., followed by the carnival kickoff dinner at 6 p.m., where the Willow King and Queen will be announced. There is limited seating for the dinner and tickets can be purchased at the Willow Public Library, Newman’s Hilltop Services, the Willow Post Office and Roni’s Chinook Deli and Pizza. Willow King and Queen voting ballots can also be found at the same places. The evening will end with a fireworks show at 7:15 p.m. This will also be the last day to vote for the photography contest, taking place in the library.

Saturday Feb. 1 will start with a breakfast hosted by the Willow Elementary PTA at the school, a fundraiser for their activities. The first day of events are mainly non-motorized. The Kiddee Snocross Race, Sven Erikssen Ski/Bike/Run Race, Homesteader Games, The Billy Taylor 5k Ski Race, and several other ski and sled dog races will be held throughout the day. For those that are not interested in participating in outdoor events, there will be a trade fair from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. in the auditorium and backyard, and live performances on stage. Performers include the Whee Duet, the Rosewood Trio, a Native Youth Olympics Demonstration and a Paws and Taws Square Dance, among others. The Paws and Taws Square Dance Group has been attending this event for almost 40 years. There will also be an ice cream eating contest on stage. Winners of the photo contest will be announced. A pike derby will also be going on throughout the weekend.

“There’s truly something for everybody,” McCain said.

Sunday Feb. 2 will start with another breakfast hosted by the Willow Elementary PTA. Outdoor activities include motorized races, starting with the Poker Run Snowmachine Race at 10 a.m. McCain said this is a very popular race that commonly sells out each year. Several other snowmachine races will be held throughout the day, including an Outhouse Race at 1 p.m. The Homesteader Games will continue on Sunday outside along with outdoors kids games and a scavenger hunt. Indoor activities include the trade fair, a cribbage tournament and a pie and dessert scholarship auction.

“It’s actually more than a pie auction,” McCain said. “It’s a spectator event and it gets pretty rowdy… We raise a lot of money and the money goes to scholarships for local students here.”

Sunday’s live performances include the Borealis Dancers, Alaska Polka Chips, Craig Walls, Close Enough and the Barony of Selviergard of the Society for Creative Anachronism. McCain said the Borealis Dancers have been attending the event for almost 50 years. The day will conclude with raffle prize drawings, homesteader games awards and the winners of the pike will be announced.

The winter carnival will conclude on Feb. 7 with the Willow Caswell Fire Dept. Fire and Ice Family Dance from 6-10 p.m. The dance will include a taco bar and all ages are welcomed to this family event.

This annual tradition wouldn’t be possible without all of the volunteers in the community, according to McCain. She encourages people from all over the Valley to visit and participate in the festivities.

“It makes us a cohesive community,” McCain said. “We’re all spread out over a huge, huge area and it just brings everyone together and makes everybody pretty proud of it all.”