STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
Let’s see….we’ve had 102 days of groomed cross-country skiing in the Sun Valley area and 85 days on Bald Mountain.
It’s time for a cabin fever reliever!
The town of Stanley 60 miles north of Sun Valley is primed to offer just that tonight and Saturday as it rolls out its 14th annual Winterfest. There’ll be outhouse races on the snow-covered streets, whitewater rafting on a hill above the town, turkey bowling, a snowshoe drag race, fat bike fondo and more.
The party gets underway at 9 tonight—Friday, Feb. 17—with the Mountain Village Kickoff Beach Party.
It resumes on Saturday, Feb. 18 with a variety of events topped by free cocoa and cookies at the library:
9 a.m.--Fat Bike Fondo starts at the Stanley High Country Inn on Ace of Diamonds Boulevard. Choose a 30k or 40k ride that begins and ends at the High Country Inn, with varied terrain in view of the beautiful Sawtooth Mountains in between. Register at https://stanleywinterfestfatbike.enmotive.com/events/register/stanley-fat-bike-fondo-2023/?sel=095a101f-ce07-4472-819b-ece13f0c146a. Or, register at the event beginning at 7:30 a.m. at the Inn.
11:30 a.m. Turkey Bowl…step right up and see how well you can sling a frozen turkey on Ace of Diamonds Street.
Noon—Turbo Tube Rides and Howlin’ Wolf Raft Rides on a nearby hill. Free.
Noon--Boise Rock School performance on Ace of Diamonds Street.
12:45 p.m.—Street Dance with music provided by Andrew Scotchie & The River Rats. Ace of Diamonds Street.
1:30 p.m.—Pizza Slam. Pony up $20 to Papa Brunees for a chance to show how much pizza you can gobble in five minutes. The winner gets $100 and a mighty full tummy.
2:30 p.m.—Drag race on snowshoes on Ace of Diamonds Street.
3:15 p.m. Three-legged race on Ace of Diamonds Street.
4 p.m. Outhouse Race on Ace of Diamonds Street. Outhouses must be human-powered, their teams consisting of three people, one of whom must sit on the seat. Each outhouse must be mounted on skis and have a one-hole seat and toilet paper holder with a roll of toilet paper.
Awards will be offered for first, second and turd place, along with Best of Show.
In addition to these activities, there’ll be free skating and pick-up hockey on the Stanley Ice Rink near the airport.
7 p.m.—70s Disco Party with music at the Kasino Club.
8 p.m.—Live music at Mountain Village Resort featuring Andrew Scotchie & The River Rats.