Snow was piled high, sleigh bells rang, and the smell of hot dogs wafted through the air at the Shawville fairgrounds Saturday for the town’s annual winter carnival.
The sledding hill, built tall and steep, was covered in bumps and grooves that made for a speedy ride full of jumps. Cheers of joy and giggles could be heard as kids took turns flying down the hill before climbing back up, to do it all over again.
Jess Brownlee was there for the second year with her uncle Kelly Tanner from Shamrock Percherons, offering sleighride tours of the fairgrounds.
“There’ll be people that will come back for two or three rides,” Brownlee said. “They’ll go do something else, like have a hot dog or go skating, then they’ll come back for another ride.”
The perfectly wintery conditions were a welcome change after last year’s mild temperatures made the carnival more slushy than snowy.
“Last year, it was mud and there was barely any snow,” said Wesley Tubman, arena manager for the municipality and one of the carnival’s organizers. “This year, you couldn’t have asked for a better day.”
Tubman spent the day handing out free hotdogs, popcorn and hot chocolate. The Shawville Rotary Club was also there handing out free cookies and juice boxes.
In front of the arena, volunteers also built a series of snowmen throughout the week which were decorated during Saturday’s carnival.
“It’s great to be a part of the community,” said Rotary volunteer Debra Stephens. “This is what it’s all about, it’s why we live in small communities.”
