Winterfest comes to Moraine State Park
Moraine State Park is open 365 days a year and has plenty for its guests to do even during the winter months.
To show off what it has to offer during the winter, Moraine is hosting the annual Winterfest event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 3. The event will take place at the McDanel’s Launch area in the North Shore section of the park.
This event is hosted by the Moraine Preservation Fun, a nonprofit, volunteer organization that supports Moraine State Park and operates the Owlet Gift Shop at Moraine for part of the year.
While plans for this year’s Winterfest are still in the works, some events have been confirmed.
According to Cassandra Dixon of the Moraine Preservation Fund, Winterfest will feature food and craft vendors, along with chainsaw-carving demonstrations, a scavenger hunt, guided hikes, games and activities for children, horse-drawn wagon rides, and other activities.
Live music will be provided by the bluegrass band Well Strung, as well as local acoustic guitar musician The Chadd.
“We've got a face painter. Allegheny Mountain Rescue will be joining us,” Dixon said. “We have Damian Skal, the chainsaw-carving gentleman, on hand again. We’ll be doing fly-fishing demonstrations.”
According to Natalie Simon of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, last year’s Winterfest drew more than 3,000 attendees.
Another part of Winterfest is the annual photo contest held by the Moraine Preservation Fund. The prize for winning each category is a pair of tickets for a cruise on Preston’s Pearl on Lake Arthur.
All entries will be printed and put on display as part of the contest, and voting will take place during Winterfest. There are six categories: best landscape, best wildlife, best plant life, best activity, best sunrise/sunset, and best avian/waterfowl.
The deadline for submission is Jan. 29 at 5 p.m. Each participant is allowed a maximum of two entries and is eligible to win in only one category.
Those interested can keep updated on the plans for Winterfest by looking at its Facebook event listing, which can be found on the Facebook page for the Moraine Preservation Fund and Moraine State Park.
