The schedule is full this weekend, with everything from the aforementioned snow carvings to the always fun sleigh rides, helicopter rides, plane rides (the fun of a ski landing on the frozen lake is something I've yet to experience), and all sorts of sales and deals at the downtown businesses. Iceboats will probably be out and about, and a throng of ice fishermen will be grouped in one place or another, chasing everything from bluegills to lake trout. Food will be present, as will raffles and other sorts of things that generally accompany any event with the word "fest" attached to them. Town promises to be full of wanderers and spectators, and as long as the weather cooperates, this weekend should be a good time for all. Picture Redbud's winter festival but without all the caroling. If you had to pick on day and time of day to be downtown Lake Geneva for the events, just do like I usually do and walk around for a while on Saturday around noon. You'll be able to see the finished sculptures, and once you're sufficiently hypothermic you can retreat to a warm restaurant for lunch.
The Grand Geneva gets in on the act as well, with all sorts of activities planned at the Mountain Top (ski hill). There will be ski and snowboard competitions, more food and plenty of children's games, capped off by a torch light parade followed by fireworks. There is also an event in town for those who wish to test their cardiovascular endurance. Anyone wishing to run the 5k or 10k race this weekend needs to be at the lakefront Library Park at 10 am on Saturday. I, as is my tradition, will be running both events in succession, but in order to keep everything fair, I'll be running the races backward and barefoot, while carrying my 6 year old son in my arms like a 70 pound stack of wet firewood.
Williams Bay also appears to have something planned for this weekend, but I cannot find a single mention of anything online as it relates to this weekend. They have signs up that say something about "A Day in the Bay" scheduled for the first Saturday in February, but the details are fuzzy. Normally the Bay's version of Winterfest features a bunch of people playing volleyball in the snow at Edgewater Park, and you'll be shocked to learn that I have never participated. I'd prefer a warm coffee in my hand and the short 100 yard walk from the dispenser of said warm coffee down to the Riviera lakefront to see the sculptures and mock the ones that I don't like.
It's a great weekend to come to the lake, but beware the mistake that is easily made. If/when you're walking around downtown, delighting in the quality of the shops that line Main Street, do not make the mistake of entering any real estate offices. If you do, you may be subjected to the efforts of other agents, and my children and their growling stomachs cannot tolerate any dissension. I'll be working this weekend, both days, with a brief hiatus on Saturday evening to cook a meal in honor of my mothers 65th birthday and my parents 44th anniversary. Other than that, I'm all yours.
