Grand County Colorado Winter Sports Carnival Opens Dec. 30-31
Six-week celebration marks 100-year anniversary of first winter carnival in western United States
Granby, Colo. – The Grand Winter Sports Carnival, the largest and longest winter carnival in the Rockies, will kick off over New Year’s weekend.
The festival marks the 100th anniversary of the first winter carnival west of the Mississippi. The celebration, which runs Dec. 30 through Feb. 11, will highlight historic and modern winter sports. Presented by the Grand County Historical Association, the six-week-long festival will celebrate the prominent role of Grand County in the heritage of Colorado skiing. Winter Carnival events will take place throughout Grand County, centering in Hot Sulphur Springs Dec. 30-31.
Friday, Dec. 30
- Food and Fun Fest (11 a.m. – end of fireworks show): Food and shopping with a winter and sports theme.
- Ice Sculpture Display Opening and Demonstration (11:30 a.m.): Includes a “dueling chainsaws” ice sculpture demo.
- Stick Horse Races for the Kids (Hourly, 12 noon – 6 p.m.)
- Ribbon-Cutting and Opening of Ice Skating Rink (2 p.m.): Period dress for adults; kids’ games.
- Corona-to-Hot Sulphur Springs Re-enactment Trek (3:30 p.m.): The Grand Nordic club and Headwaters Trails Alliance will re-create the original 44-mile cross-country ski trip by Carl Howelsen and Angell Schmidt. Trekkers will leave the top of the Continental Divide at 8 a.m.; skiers can join the trekkers in the last leg of the trip, from Snow Mountain Ranch to Hot Sulphur Springs, at 1 p.m., or anywhere along the route.
- Opening Ceremonies (4 p.m.): Arrival of the re-enactment trekkers will signal the kick-off of the carnival’s opening ceremonies. Ceremonies will feature Al White, director of the Colorado Tourism Office, as keynote speaker, and a bonfire.
- Fireworks (6 p.m.)
Saturday, Dec. 31
- Ice Skating Races and Kids’ Games (10 a.m.)
- Food and Fun Fest (11 a.m. – end of Rail Jam)
- Ice Sculpture Display Opening and Demonstration (12-1 p.m.): Includes a “dueling chainsaws” ice sculpture demo.
- Stick Horse Races for the Kids (Hourly, 12 noon – 6 p.m.)
- Historic Sites Tour (2 p.m.): Start from Pioneer Museum, and visit the locations of the original winter carnival events.
- Snowshoe Shuffle Along the Colorado River (3-4 p.m.): Snowshoe walk from Pioneer Park.
- Rail Jam Exhibition (4-7 p.m.): Exhibition by the Winter Park Competition Team.
- Ski or Snowshoe in the Kawuneeche (9:30 a.m., 1 p.m.): Join a ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park for a scenic tour.
· Fireworks (dusk) – Synchronized torchlight ski down at Granby Ranch, followed by fireworks.
Events in January include the Winter Park Snow Fest and Mary Jane’s Birthday Bash and Three Lakes Ice Fishing Tournament. February events include a parade, three-legged ski race, sled/toboggan races, a Coulter-to-Hot Sulphur Springs ski race imitating the original mail route, the Grand County Town Challenge Snowshoe Softball Tournament, and the Grand Snow Ball. Ongoing activities include skijoring clinics; ski film fest; Kauffman House Ski Exhibition; the Cozens Ranch Museum Ski History Exhibition; and Pioneer Museum Carnival Exhibition.
For details on all events, see www.grandwintercarnival.com.
Winter Carnival History
In the Grand County of 1911, skiing was a necessary mode of transportation rather than a sport or leisure activity. Mail carriers, loggers and others used “Norwegian snowshoes” to do their jobs in long, snowy winters. Gradually, citizens began adapting snowshoes and skis to race down the slopes for fun. In part due to the example of Norwegian Carl Howelsen, Grand County became one of the first areas in Colorado to adopt sport skiing.
In December 1911, Hot Sulphur Springs – the oldest town in Grand County – hosted Colorado’s first winter carnival, which historians consider the birth of the ski industry in the American west. The original carnival featured ice skating, togogganing, cross-county skiing and the newly invested sport of ski jumping – complete with a ski jump exhibition by Howelson. The enthusiasm for the event spurred organizers to host the first Annual Hot Sulphur Springs Winter Carnival six weeks later, in February 1912.
Grand County, Colo. (www.grand-county.com)
Located 67 miles west of Denver, Grand County is home to wide-open spaces, breathtaking mountain scenery and authentic old-west towns. Outdoor recreational activities include golf, boating, fishing, biking, hiking, fishing, hunting and horseback riding.
The area features more than 600 miles of mapped and marked trails, one national park, two national forests, two wilderness areas, two national scenic byways, two major ski resorts, five world-class dude ranches and four mountain golf courses. Grand County’s extensive water network includes Colorado’s largest natural lake, 1,000 miles of streams, 1,000 acres of high-mountain lakes and 11,000 acres of reservoirs.
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