Snowman fest rolls into Ile des Chenes

Ile des Chenes will kick off February by hosting a winter festival that organizers say will be held for the community, while also being run by the community.

"The basic idea behind the festival is to have a community festival that is put on and organized by members of the community," Ile des Chenes Snowman Festival organizer Yvette Bernat said. "Every event at the festival is organized by a local company, organization or individual."

The second annual festival will take place this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., with the majority of events happening in and around the TransCanada Centre at 1 Rivard Street.

Bernat said she and other residents first came up with the idea of creating a winter festival last year, because for many years they saw no major festivals taking place in the community.

"Ile des Chenes is a growing community so it was decided that we needed something to bring the community together," she said.

The festival will feature a number of events including a Snow and Shine Sled and ATV show, snowshoe races, a beer garden, kids’ carnival games and bouncers, face painting, a toboggan slide as well as a pea soup and chili cookoff.

The event will close with a fireworks show set to start at 6:30 p.m.

Anyone looking for more information can visit the event’s Facebook page.