The 53rd Annual Iola Winter Carnival will be held on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 1-2, in the Iola community.
The Winter Carnival Weekend kicks off at 8 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 1, with an Ice Sculpture Contest. Anyone interested in being a carver should call Peggy Olsen, Iola-Scandinavia High School Art Department, at 715-445-2411.
Other activities for Saturday include a Norwegian Lutefisk Supper and Indoor Craft Sale from 1 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the I-S High School. The lutefisk and fresh cod with drawn butter will be served family-style, along with meatballs, potatoes, vegetable, lefse and Norwegian pastries.
The cost is $12 for adults and $5 for children under 12.
Skijoring, a new event to the Winter Carnival, will begin at 3 p.m. Saturday. This is a sport in which a dog assists a cross-country skier.
In Skijoring , the cross-country skier provides power with skis and poles, and the dog adds additional power by running and pulling. The skier wears a skijoring harness, the dog wears a sled dog harness, and the two are connected by a length of rope.
The 3K event will be held at the Iola Winter Sports Club complex, located five miles north of Iola at E398 County Road MM.
The Iola Twilight Snowshoe Race will start at 6 p.m. Saturday at the IWSC complex. Races include 5K, 10K and a children’s 800m.
Sunday’s events include the Nordic Combined Cross-Country Race starting at 9 a.m. and Central USSA Ski Jumping beginning at noon on Norseman Hill at the IWSC Complex.
Admission is charged for a souvenir button. Food and refreshments will be available.
There is a raffle during the weekend that is sponsored by Iola Lions, American Legion Post 14 and the Iola Winter Sports Club. Prizes being offered include $1,000, $500, $350, $250, six $100 cash prizes and numerous merchandise prizes.
The raffle drawing will take place Sunday, Feb. 2; winners need not be present to win.
For more information, call 715-445-4005; on event weekend call 715-445-3411.