POLAND — The second annual Winter Festival was met with success Saturday as hundreds made their way to the budding municipal park for games, fun competition and food.
Kids and adults alike enjoyed cardboard sled racing, a “Yeti Challenge,” snowball rolling contest, snowball tosses, scavenger hunts, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, ice skating, animal tracking and snow painting from morning until the early afternoon.
Scott Segal, Poland’s recreational director, said the festival, which is put on by the Poland Parent Teacher Association and Poland Community Economic Development Committee, was moved from Poland Springs last year to put the town’s new park area to use.
“We anticipate having it here in future years,” he said. “Now that we’ve kind of gotten ourselves a municipal park, we’re excited to bring people together.”
Cardboard sledder Maura Muldoon raced in the newborn-to-8 category and said it didn’t take her too long to deck out “Ice-ice Baby,” an ice-cream truck-inspired sled. It took about four hours, said her mother, Courtney, and the finishing touches weren’t quite all-Maura as she would have many believe. Headed up the hill to take another spin, Maura was heard saying, “I’ll probably drive.”
The big foot of the Yetti stands on a pile of snow Saturday during Poland Community Winter Festival. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
The Yeti Challenge, an obstacle course in the snow, drew over 70 participants and many stuck around to build a giant yeti to take pictures with, said volunteer and cardboard sledding judge Renee Farnham.
“Kids were going over tires and barrels and you had to climb up a hill and slide down it,” she said. “It was a lot of fun.”
Zorion Sands enjoys some cotton candy Saturday during Poland Community Winter Festival. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
Food vendors included the Poland PTA, Project Graduation and Knights’ Pride Boosters Club, and many businesses from Poland, Mechanic Falls, Minot and other towns have either chipped in or come to the event for event support, said Farnham. Also supported at the event was Poland Community Food Bank and Santa Comes to Poland, which accepted donations in exchange for coffee and hot cocoa. Poland Parks and Recreation provided free snowshoe, ski and ice skate rentals for activities.
“It’s all money that’s going back to the community, which is wonderful,” she said.
Alice St. Peter, 6, said she came out to “kind of just basically walk around out here,” but she confessed she had her eyes on the steep hill spilling sledders into the middle of the park.
“It’s fun and lots of my friends are here and,” she paused, “there’s sledding.”
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