Not so frosty
Despite warm weather, Jack Frost Children’s Winterfest sees increase in hotel stays
Mary and Buck Deegan didn’t realize the excitement they were in for this weekend.
The Amherst, N.S., couple and their one-year-old son, Jessy, were among the thousands who attended the Jack Frost Children’s Winterfest held at the Charlottetown Event Grounds and Eastlink Centre.
However, unlike the many who have made a tradition of planning their weekend around the event, the N.S. family attended the festival largely on a whim.
“We had nothing to do this morning, so we thought we would check it out,” said Buck on Saturday, noting they had heard about the festival through friends.
“Next year, we’ve decided that we will probably come over and stay the weekend. We weren’t expecting this.”
Despite the mild weather slowly melting the outdoor site over the balmy weekend, organizers said the festival was a success.
Craig Jones, president of the Hotel Association of P.E.I., which is the non-profit group responsible for organizing the festival, said hotel room sales were up over the past several years.
“Which is great, the main goal is trying to create an event or activity that brings people off-island to P.E.I. in February ... and it’s not just the hotels that benefit. Restaurants, gas stations, the bridge, everyone sees a bit of a pickup from the weekend,” said Jones.
Ice slides, intricate sculptures, carving demonstrations and horse and sleigh rides were just a few of the festival’s outdoor features that kept parents and children busy.
“It is just non-stop fun,” said Mary Deegan. “Jessy is just having a ball just with all the slides and all the activities and we checked out the Eastlink Centre and he loved the bouncy castles. That was amazing.”
The indoor activities also included live entertainment, magic shows and a petty zoo.
On Sunday, organizers had to close the ice slides due to the warming weather but provided free admission to the indoor playland to those who had purchased outdoor-only passes.
Jones said the warm weather was still preferable to the snowstorms and extremely cold temperatures during the past couple of weeks.
“If we had a nor’easter blizzard and the roads were closed, that would be way worse,” said Jones.
“(We closed the slides) just because we want safety first, especially with kids.”
All other outdoor activities, including the tube run, face painting, meet and greets with Jack Frost, and musical performances were still held.
The festival has become an annual tradition for Krystal Kelly’s family from Amherst, N.S.
She and her husband, Robert, brought their two daughters Kassie, 5, and Presley, 2, to the festival for the third time.
Kelly said the best part is seeing expression on her daughters’ faces.
“My two-year-old, she was in awe of Splash and Boots this morning. She was sitting there staring at them. She couldn’t even move. She was so ecstatic.”
Jones also expressed an appreciation for the many volunteers who help pull off the festival.
“Not just during the weekend but the people who work so hard leading up to the event,” said Jones.
“It’s a mammoth undertaking and it’s a lot of hard work that doesn’t go unnoticed.”