The Kemptville Winter Carnival is coming to town!

submitted by Herb Cloutier, Carnival founder

The volunteer organizing committee for the inaugural Kemptville Winter Carnival is thrilled to announce a brand-new, familyfriendly outdoor event February 3-5 at Riverside Park.

We’ll kick-off the event with our opening ceremonies and a ribbon cutting conducted by our Mayor, Nancy Peckford, accompanied by our title sponsor eQ Homes and the ‘Mayor of eQuinelle.’

The goal of the carnival is to gather as a community and celebrate the winter season, while bringing back regular use of the Kemptville Creek. However, due to the mild weather we’ve had, the ice won’t be ready in time for this year’s event, so we are planning our festivities at Riverside Park instead of Curry Park this year and hope to bring the carnival back to the creek in 2024.

But there will be plenty of fun for all ages, even without the ice!

You won’t want to miss the nighttime performances by our fire dancers, the snow sculp- ture artists, the dinosaur races, or the glowing fairy dancers!

The carnival will also offer a scavenger hunt, snow painting, and a variety of other fun activities for the kids, hosted by NG Pride.

Hop on the horsedrawn wagon for a ride through the winter wonderland, roast some marshmallows on the fire, enjoy some free hot chocolate sponsored by Brewed Awakenings, and have your family photo taken under the glow of the twinkle lights. Did we mention there will be Beavertails?! That’s right, the Beavertail truck will be on-site all carnival long. You’ll also want to grab a smoked beef brisket sandwich or some chili from local Texan chef, Bruce Enloe.

Watch out for the charity barbeque that will be running all weekend by The Rotary Club and Kemptville Youth Centre, with the food and drinks generously donated by the B&H: Your Community Grocer.

“A local community carnival like this will continue to grow for many years as families, and residents of all ages, enjoy a wonderful winter event designed to be inclusive and fun!”

We are still accepting volunteer and sponsorship applications. For more information, visit www.kemptvillewintercarnival.ca or email wintercarnivalkemptville@ gmail.com

See you at Riverside Park!