FUN TIMES ALL OVER
Annual winterfest produces full day of entertainment
From the early morning slush and snow of ice fishing to the late afternoon warmth of a cup of hot soup last Saturday’s 2018 Clifton Park Winterfest seemed to have an entertaining free event going on somewhere.
The town’s annual mid-winter event is expanding as more groups find interesting ways to bring people outside to complement longtime events taking place inside. With an eight inch snowfall three days before the event, not even a light rain on Saturday could dampen the outdoor fun.
“I never tried this before so I thought I’d try it,” said Alphonse Chesneau as he stood beside an ice fishing hole in the snowy slush of Barney Road Pond. “We’re all waiting for the first fish to bite.”
A small group of interested newcomers to the sport and their children watched patiently as volunteer instructor Frank Berlin taught them the intricacies of chopping a hole in the ice, baiting a line, and setting a tip up.
A retired math teacher and an experienced volunteer, when the fish refused to bite Berlin pulled out a bag of mini Kit Kat candies.
“This is a big part of ice fishing,” he laughed as he distributed the sweets.
At nearly the same time children and adults were lining up in the snow at Riverview Orchards for free, horse-drawn, sleigh rides. One after another the horse trailers pulled in from the Washington County Draft
Association club with pairs of horses and open sleighs.
The team from Living Large Drafts of Duansesburg arrived first and after Paul Clark got Gabby and Bob, two black Percheron draft horses, hitched to the sleigh, he took them out and made a trail for the others to follow.
As the first group of passengers slid through the snow, Doug Vance arrived with his brother’s team of blond Belgium drafts horses, Buck and Winslow. As he took his first group of passengers out Vance could be heard telling them all about how the horses were rescued, their differing personalities, and what they’re fed.
As the rain let up ever so lightly, a few tubers and sleigh riding enthusiasts came out to test the orchard’s hill.
“This is our third year,” said Brandi Bornt as her two children Rileigh Belmore, 3, and Shea Belmore, 7, took turns seeing who could go the farthest. “It’s nice to get outside. Usually there’s a bonfire here which is nice but it’s raining today.”
One of the longtime favorite events of Winter Fest is the Clifton Park Idol competition and last week’s contest was closer than ever. With two age groupings of contestants the free musical entertainment was extraordinary.
Where, years past, the performances had been held in the central square of Clifton Park Center, this year’s contest was moved to a quieter location in a nearby available store front.
Most contestants sang along to instrumental sound tracks while a few accompanied themselves on stringed instruments. When semifinalist Bella Kreitner was told she needed a second tune to perform she sang “Don’t Wait” by Van Halen a cappella. There were movie tunes, popular radio favorites, self-penned numbers, an early Beatles song done slowly, and local rapper Jordan Wang.
“It’s exciting,” said Ashlynn Boyce, 10, the winner in the younger grouping. “I sang ‘She Climb’ by Miley Cyrus and ‘What About Me’ by Pink. My favorite artist used to be Taylor Swift but now it’s Pink.”
At the Shenedehowa Rotary’s Outhouse Race Competition on the Common it became clear very early on that the team from the Southern Saratoga YMCA was once again the one to beat.
The most unique outhouse design this year was SAS Insurance Company’s entry, Queen Fiona’s Royal Throne. Designed to look more like a castle than an outhouse, the team’s pushers and pullers raced down and back heat after heat against more utilitarian designs.
“We’re having a great time and doing better than last year,” said Sherrie Benner of the East Glenville Community Church Youth Group with their entry, Poop Happens. “My mom, Anne Cargile, is the Rotarian and my dad Harry Cargile is the builder.”
Another team, Skidmarks In the Snow, was also making a repeat appearance.
“We’ve got some new members,” said Rotarian Todd Hess. “We saw that team from the YMCA last year and knew we needed younger blood.”
The day finished up for many inside the ballroom of the Hilton Garden Inn with the Taste of Clifton Park Soup Competition. Teams from ten local restaurants battled it out for the public’s vote.
“I come every year and taste every soup at least twice,” said one anonymous soup connoisseur. “I go to Saratoga’s Chowder Festival every year too and do the same thing but I only sample five or six because there are so many. Today, my choice is the Rusty Nail’s entry.”
The public, however, voted differently. In a close competition between first and second place Peddlers Bar and Bistro’s country roasted chicken pot pie soup was voted the best soup in town.
“Everything was done from scratch,” said a happy Kyle Gemma, Peddler’s production manager and the soup’s chef. “We roasted the chickens, used homemade stock with all fresh ingredients, made country style biscuits and then added loving care.”
Peddler’s Executive Chef Elliott Dawson was happy with the victory too. After coming in second several years, he said it was nice to get over the hump and finally come in first.
The first, second, and third place finishers in the Clifton Park Idol’s younger grouping were Ashlynn Boyce, Bronwyn Foulke and Fiona Foulke. The first, second, and third place finishers in the competition’s older grouping were Devynn Jones, Jordan Wang, and Bella Kreitner.