Bayfield Winter Festival To Be Held This Weekend
There aren't many places where you can don a fish suit or ballerina outfit and have people pay you to jump into a giant hole in frigid Lake Superior. The Bayfield Winter Festival is an appropriate occasion for all of the above, and it's all for a good cause.
From March 4 through March 6, Bayfield will be celebrating snow, ice and cabin fever during its 6th Annual Bayfield Winter Festival. While many of the featured activites will directly benefit local non-profit organizations like the Bayfield Area Recreation Center and Mt. Ashwabay Ski and Recreation Area, others are just plain crazy and fun.
Events kick off on Friday afternoon, with Frosty Festival Friday throughout Bayfield. From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., participating shops and restaurants will be offering refreshments, unique festival-themed sales, scrumptious food specials and the opportunity to be entered in a drawing for three grand prizes, including a weekend lodging package at Island View B & B, a gift basket from Big Water Cafe & Coffee Roasters & Flamingo's Up North, and passes to the Bayfield Area Recreation Center and Mt. Ashwabay Recreation Area.
Visitors can collect tickets at every participating First Friday business and enter to win prizes at the Bayfield Inn, where the drawing will take place at 8 p.m.
Friday evening will also highlight an Outrageous Winter Hat Contest (with the winner being granted the honor of performing the "Blessing of the Hole" during Saturday's Polar Plunge) and the Freeze Your Glass Off Deck Party at the Bayfield Inn, offering live music, drinks and an incredible view of the lake from the outdoor deck. Attendees will also have the opportunity to pre-register for Saturday's Run On Water during this time.
Young and old can participate in this unique mid-winter celebration, with a range of activities for every member of the family during Saturday's event line-up. While children will enjoy the Manypenny Madness Carnival, offering kids activities and free use of the Bayfield Rec Center from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., much of the attention is focused on the morning's Run On Water, a 4.5-mile journey across the "Ice Road" from Bayfield to Madeline Island and back. Participants can choose how they want to perform the trip, as long as it's a non-motorized mode of transportation. Proceeds from the Run On Water benefit the Bayfield Area Recreation Center and along with the much-anticipated Polar Bear Plunge, serve to supplement the organization's operational costs.
The Polar Bear Plunge is perhaps the most dramatic of the weekend's activities, with hundreds of spectators gathering to cheer on the brave and creative souls who volunteer to participate. Look for animal costumes, hula skirts, families plunging as a group and individuals plunging for bragging rights. Prizes are awarded for the best costumes and plunges of the day. To watch, head down the pier at the bottom of Rittenhouse Ave, behind the Bayfield Inn. Don't forget to bring your camera!
Visitors can finish the day in style at the Mt. Ashwabay Winterfest Bash, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. This party will feature live music by Nathan Parent and the Parallel Figures, The Ringtones, Down the Hatch, and The What Four, and delicious food by The Pier Plaza Restaurant, Isle Vista Casino, Good Thyme Restaurant, and North Coast Coffee and Mini-Donuts.
Guests can get warm by the giant bonfire, enjoy night skiing and tubing, a luminary-lit cross-country ski trail and more. A free shuttle will be provided by Isle Vista Casino and run a route from Isle Vista, to the Bayfield Inn, to Mt. Ashwabay, and back from 5 p.m. to 11:15 p.m.
Many other activities take place throughout the weekend including: Ice Fishing Demonstrations & Contest, Dogsled Rides on the Big Lake, Madeline Island's Big Ice Golf VI, Luminary hike on the Brownstone Trail, Night sledding on Manypenny Avenue, and Kiteboards on the Lake, just to name a few. For a complete schedule of Bayfield Winter Festival events please visit www.bayfieldwinterfestival.com.