WILLOW CREEK — In a town where January temperatures routinely drop below zero, the idea of a winter carnival might seem counterintuitive. But organizers of Willow Creek’s first-ever Winter Carnival, held Saturday, say the cold is exactly the point.
“We’re done apologizing for winter,” said Eleanor Vance, who helped organize the event. “Winter in Maine is beautiful. People pay money to experience it in other places. There’s no reason they can’t experience it here.”
The day-long event drew an estimated 350 people to Homan’s Pond, where the town had cleared and flooded a skating rink on the pond’s edge. Activities included pickup hockey, snowshoe races across the frozen surface, an igloo-building contest, and a chili cook-off featuring 14 entrants.
Deputy Sheriff Patricia LaFleur took top honors in the chili competition with a venison-and-bean recipe her grandmother passed down. “It’s about 90 percent heat, 10 percent sentiment,” LaFleur said. “The secret is the smoked paprika.”
Henry Farr provided a horse-drawn sleigh for rides around the pond, and Maeve O’Donnell ran a hot cocoa and baked potato stand from the General Store that sold out by 2 p.m.
Arthur Pendelton, who participated in the snowshoe race despite what he described as “decades of rust,” declared the carnival a success. “We proved we can do something in February that people will actually show up for,” he said. “That’s not nothing in Aroostook County.”
A second carnival is already planned for February 2027.