Gravenhurst Winter Carnival Extended to Week Long Celebration
There's Wiarton Willie, from Wiarton, Ontario, and Punxsutwaney Phil, seasonal star of Gobbler's Knob, in Punxsutwaney, Pennsylvania. Groundhogs, that come out of their cozy dens on the 2nd of February, each year, to predict, according to whether they see their shadow, or not, how many weeks of winter are left before the warming days of spring.
Gravenhurst has groundhogs alright, but they're nestled comfortably in local farm fields. Here there is no place of honor or event that celebrates their prognostication about the arrival of spring. The town has an otter, but this furry little fellow doesn't emerge until the 15th of February, and his sight is only set on seven days of glorious, albeit potentially brutal winter weather. It doesn't want an early spring to ruin a mid winter spectacle.
In Muskoka we never know if it will be an extended thaw or a continuous blizzard. But historians can write reims about the sleeper-month, of February, that can throw all kinds of wild weather at inhabitants. It's the magic of a Canadian winter afterall, and we've got a six foot otter to "mascot" the big party, organized in February's honor!
Do you get the shivers just looking at a winter coat? Get nervous at the first sight of a snowflake hitting your window pane? Are you a winter complainer? A hater of all things that are covered in snow and ice? A reluctant participant in winter season sports that require toleration of the cold? Might you be ticked-off this year, because a winter vacation to the tropics, is going to cost a lot more than it did last year, and the year before? Are you interested in a bargain priced outing, good for the whole family? And by the way, how do you feel about otters? The winter event I'm writing about, involves a regionally popular critter, the otter, and a South Muskoka community, that considers winter the best time of the year to play outside. An otter in the winter! A strange but interesting combination to celebrate mid-February.
It has been recently announced, that the Gravenhurst Winter Carnival, borrowing from the pages of local history, has increased their annual February event, from a three day celebration, to one that will run for an entire week this year. The re-booted winter festival will run this month from February 15th to the 21st, making it a week long cousin of its founding Muskoka Winter Carnival, which dates back 45 years. Thus, the still-active Carnival mascot, "Skokie," the regionally popular winter otter, will turn 45 year of age, when the event opens on February 15th in Gravenhurst.
Contrary to popular belief, and we're not kidding about this, an old fashioned Canadian winter is pretty special to many of us, who dwell year round, in the vast, enchanted hinterland, content to be clenched in the teeth of its traditional inclement weather. This is what motivated organizers, in the District of Muskoka, way back in the winter of 1971, to initiate a special week long event, to promote the best, and most invigorating opportunities of winter season recreation. Well, truth is, they invented some unique, crowd-pleasing events as well as the usual fare, to fill out the week long schedule. Such as curling with frozen turkeys, sculpting all things big and small, from a big pile of snow, and pushing beds on wheels down icy lengths of local main streets.
A few years back, and despite naysayers who said it wouldn't fly, and with only a modest amount of enthusiasm from the business community, the restored Gravenhurst Winter Carnival Committee took a chance on a spark to build a bigger fire. They began stirring-up interest in the idea of re-introducing the historic February celebration, originally begun in 1971 as a district wide event. And, with a trial and error willingness to learn, and a few years of lesser attendance for a down-sized and localized Skokie party, the event slowly began showing increasing support, more volunteer commitment, greater interest from the municipality, and much larger turn-out of both participants and spectators. Which has created a spin-off buzz in the business community. It gave organizers reason to step up their game, and return to the week long event, that the Muskoka Winter Carnival began with, 45 years ago, and operated successfully for quite a few years.
Due to the increasing costs to run the original event, in the three towns, of Bracebridge, Huntsville and Gravenhurst, through the decades of content evolution, and more involvement required by the sponsoring municipalities, plus the natural and obvious changes affecting the number of volunteers, needed to pull off the ambitious Carnival, the Muskoka-wide event began to suffer from its own successes. It was what many major events experience at their peak. The demands become a burden, and in this case, the only way to save it, was to allow each community to celebrate it in their own way. This worked for awhile but the event had suffered from funding shortfalls each year, fewer volunteers were showing up to run events, and public interest was waining. It was unfortunate when the Muskoka Winter Carnival ceased as it had begun, but it had enjoyed a fairly long run, as these large-scale events are known to have, and the survivor of the collapse, was the spin-off Gravenhurst Winter Carnival, that found the old Skokie mascot suits were still stitched together suitably, to put them back on the shoulders of willing volunteers, to hustle-up support on the main street of town.
The history of the Muskoka Winter Carnival has a plethora of highlights, including music that has promoted "Skokie" the otter, and the event itself, performed by such well known musicians, as Howard Cable and his Orchestra, the duo of Brad and Bonnie Veitch, and most recently, by the local group, "Pressure Point." All promoting the idea that winter can be a lot of fun amongst good company, with interesting recreational events.
Us Muskokans, and Gravenhurst hometowners, like the idea of sharing winter with visitors. If you think Muskoka is a beautiful recreational region in the summer months, you really have to experience what it's like in the throes of a Canadian winter. It might be snowy, cold with a bitter wind, but we've found many ways of taking advantage of its invigoration, and spectacular scenery, to recognize, participate, and celebrate the diversity of climate, that's not as bad as you have been led to believe. Another misconception is that once the tourist season ends in Muskoka, all businesses close up until the very next 24th of May holiday weekend. If you come up for the events of this year's Gravenhurst Winter Carnival, you will find quite the opposite, and the main street of town will play host to a number of the events. It's a Gravenhurst sponsored event, but it's a celebration of winter in Muskoka, and all are invited to attend.
There might be a blizzard. There could be blistering cold. There may well be a sunny stretch of weather, that hits a near-melt, and then again, it might be seven days of whacky weather, akin to all the traditions you've ever known, or heard, of a Canadian winter. It's our weather, and we should enjoy it! Consider a winter vacation that doesn't have palm trees and ocean breezes. How about one that inspires artists, sculptors, painters, photographers, poets, philosophers, and oh yes, those who play hockey, like to curl, and follow a winter otter event to event, for good family time adventures. Just dress warm and expect a chill to blow in off the lake. Just enough to keep you fleet footed event to event.
Instead of the winter blahs, here is an affordable stay-cation opportunity, to visit a region best known for boating and summer recreation, that also, on the frozen, other side, is a most hospitable little burg, quite comfortable in its warm winter attire. Come and see for yourself, if you don't believe this hale and hardy, dressed-for-comfort Muskokan.
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