February 11, 2015 at 3:07 p.m.
Rhinelander Lions Club ready for annual fisheree and winter festival
Rhinelander Lions Club ready for annual fisheree and winter festival
By Kayla Thomason-
The 39th annual Rhinelander Lions Fisheree and Winter Festival will be held Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Boom Lake and the Rhinelander Flowage.
The boundary terminates around the Pine Harbor area and County Highway W.
"There are a lot of fish laying on the bottom of Boom Lake ready to be caught," said Mike Romportl, club member and co-chair of the event.
There will be hot chili, brats and hamburgers for sale. Soda, water, hot chocolate and coffee will also be available.
Other activities this year will include the Rhinelander Area Chamber of Commerce's Flannel Face Off and the YMCA of the Northwoods snowshoe race.
The Flannel Face Off will start at 10 a.m. Saturday.
It will be a 5K or 10K race that will take place around Hodag Park. Children 14 years of age and older can participate in the event.
This will be no ordinary race. It will feature Northwoods-themed obstacles designed to test the competitor's skills. Some challenges include using a hand ice auger, carrying an armload of firewood about 50 yards, and dragging a burlap bag equivalent to the weight of a white-tailed deer approximately 100 yards.
"We see that things like 'Tough Mudder' and 'Warrior Dash' have been extremely popular over the last few years but nothing like that really occurs in the winter and nothing really tests some of those fun Northwoods skills that people do everyday," said Dana DeMet, Rhinelander Area Chamber of Commerce executive director.
The chamber has participated in the Winter Festival for several years.
The YMCA of the Northwoods is sponsoring the third annual 5K or Family Tromp snowshoe race Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
The course will take participants around Hodag Park. The events will start just below the baseball diamond.
"It's kind of an event for the whole family and there's the competitive side in the open division as well as the non-competitive side and being a family event," said Chris Cook, wellness and marketing director at the YMCA of the Northwoods. "I think that's been kind of the draw for this event. You can try and set a 5K personal best time or you can go out there with the entire family and enjoy a 5K walk around Hodag Park and kind of check out the other festivities that are part of the fisheree and winter festival."
Registration will take place at the boat landing in the Hodag Diamond Club building.
The pre-registration fee for the 5K open division is $15. There will be no age classes and prizes will be awarded to the fastest male and female.
There is a $20 fee for an entire family to participate in the Family Tromp. Any member of the family can participate, regardless of age.
"We've had people carry toddlers and infants and go along with the whole family so there's really no age limit," Cook said.
The 5K takes approximately 17 minutes to complete and the Trompers typcially take around 45 minutes.
Racers will start the event first followed by the families a minute later.
The event usually averages approximately 30 participants but Cook is hoping for around 50 this year.
The Lions approached the Y several years ago about holding an event during the festival.
"We decided that a snowshoe event would be best fit for the venue there and what we could do," Cook said.
Tickets for the Winter Festival are being sold at most area sporting goods stores and bait shops.
The participation fee is $10 up until Friday. After that, the price increases to $15. Children's tickets will be $2.
Raffles will start between 1:30 and 2 p.m. and people can win monetary prizes. Children can win a bike.
Raffle tickets will be $2 apiece or 3 for $5.
The cash drawing, auger and ice shelter will be raffled off on Sunday. People do not need to be present to win.
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
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