Freezing temperatures and adequate snowfall have helped McCall carry the tradition of snow sculpture construction during the winter carnival. However, this year is different.
The McCall Winter Carnival is back with event rule changes and new dates.
Temperatures have not been cold enough to freeze the snow “forms” used to construct the figures. Participants now can use materials like PVC pipe and lumber to support their creations.
McKenzie Kraemer, Director of Marketing for the McCall Area Chamber of Commerce, says every event is still happening this year, either at the carnival or on another weekend in the winter.
“Weather is one of those things we cannot control for the most part,” Kraemer. “The only thing dramatically impacted by that would be sculptures. But everything else at Carnival is built to not be weather dependent.”
The carnival has also been shortened from ten days to three.
“The purpose of Carnival is really to help bolster the local economy and that does that better at the end of February,” Kraemer says.
McCall sees increased visitors in January and February, so business owners chose to spread out some Winter Carnival activities to better support the flow of tourists. In previous years, the 4,000 person town may see as many as 60,000 visitors for the event.
“It's kind of getting back to its traditional stuff where it's a reason to be outside,” Kraemer says. “Come and have a little bit of fun and break up the winter a little bit.”
The three day event starts next Friday, Feb. 23 and runs until Feb. 25. Most of the events are free, however some will require a ticket to enter, such as the figure skating event and bingo night.
