SKOWHEGAN, Maine — The annual week-long winter sports-themed Somerset Snowfest kicked off Friday, Feb. 16. Thousands of people from all over Maine and neighboring states in New England were expected pour into Somerset County for winter fun.
The festival is coordinated by Main Street Skowhegan and Lake George Regional Park, and it features an array of events like ice fishing derbies and skijoring races.
Darryll White, director of Lake George Regional Park, said this winter made preparing for the festival tough, with unpredictable weather and constant storms.
"We were fortunate enough to get enough snow to make it look like it's winter," White said standing on the snow that fell earlier Friday morning. "It's been a challenge just due to the conditions. It's been start, stop, do it over. That kind of thing, because the snow comes, we set it up, it melts."
This winter's snow, rain, ice, and wind mix ripped the festival's sign to shreds. Still, nearly 5,000 people are expected to come out and enjoy the week-long event.
"Snowfest has brought so many people from all over," Kylie Brown, who owns Thrifty Chic Boutique, said. "I mean, I've met people from Connecticut, New York. They come from everywhere to come up to this in this little town in Skowhegan, Maine. I love it."
Brown said she's from Maine, and it makes her smile to share all the things she loves about the state with so many people.
Maine Street Skowhegan CEO and President Kristina Cannon said people even come up from Pennsylvania, which is eight to 10 hours away.
People from New England states are expected to participate in some competitions.
"I actually know that there will be people skijoring from Massachusetts," Cannon said.
Cannon said crowds pour in to watch the skijoring events and volunteer Mary Haley will be calling the races.
"It's just a lot of energy. It's fast-paced," Haley said. "You're cheering for people to make it down the course successfully, but you're also kind of rooting for the crashes because they're kind of fun to watch too."
The festival doesn't just give people from communities far and wide something to do, but it also gives businesses like Unwind and Brown's business, Thrifty Chic Boutique, the extra push that they need during the slower winter season.
"Just next weekend will be half of our sales for February," Billie Clark said.
Clark will be hosting the ice bar during the last two days of the festival. She said she and her husband make it an experience for all their customers to enjoy.
Brown has been in business for three years. She said she made a decent amount of money for sales during her first year, but last year during the festival, her sales tripled. Now she's looking forward to the extra money that Snowfest will bring in during the slow revenue season.
"Some months it's so little, like nothing," Brown said. "I'm barely covering the rent for the place. Then some months, I'm like, 'Whoa, where'd that come from?' And it's usually around events like this."
People who come into Brown's boutique during the festival week will be entered into a raffle to win $20.
Money raised from the week-long festival is deposited back into funds to help Main Street Skowhegan and Lake George continue to provide free outdoor experiences to Maine families.
To see a list of events and contests going on this week, click here,
Online registration is closed, but you can register in person for any event that you want to participate in or attend.