The Frost Festival uses snow and outdoor venues for much of its events but organizers found that depending on Mother Nature was not a good idea, so years ago they added a day of indoor events to the festival. That was a good thing for this year’s festival, as the extreme wind and cold, combined with blizzard predictions, forced organizers to cancel Sunday’s outdoor activities.
Linda Benson, one of the Frost Festival organizers, said the weekend kicked off as planned with the Derry Village Rotary’s free spaghetti supper for seniors. Saturday more than 60 youngsters stopped by for a free puppet show put on by the Derry Public Library and the live animal show that followed from Wildlife Encounters.
At the 5K for FFA Snowshoe races Saturday at J & F Farms, the 2.5K winner was Adam Nisson at 21:32.1. Wayne Crandall was the 5K winner at 28:24.3.
“Sunday’s forecast simply presented a safety issue so we felt we had to cancel,” Benson said. “We couldn’t be sure the parking lots would be fully plowed and safe for people, and the cold and wind was a safety consideration for those attending and those presenting the various aspects of Sunday’s events. The decision to cancel really was because it was a safety issue and we didn’t feel it was right to put people in the position of being out in such extreme weather.”
The Beaver Lake Improvement Association canceled its Sunday chili contest and other activities slated for Beaver Lake because of the cold. The outdoor winter activities at Alexander-Carr Park and Hoodkroft Country Club could have posed safety issues as well. It just wasn’t worth taking the chance of exposing people to the extreme conditions, Benson said, so the decision was made to cancel.
Benson was disappointed about the Sunday cancelation but her upbeat attitude came through when she said, “Wait until next year.”
