Bill Sandusky of the Frozen Assets Ice Carving Company is indeed back and in action in the town of Oakland, where the 6th annual Winter Fest will be held this weekend, Feb. 15-17. The annual progressive dinner will take place tomorrow night, with participants taken by sleigh to a number of stops for a complete meal. (Reservations are required and can be made by calling 301-334-3352.) New this year will be the Kick-Off Reception at the Oakland fire hall, located along Third Street, on Friday, 6 to 10 p.m. There will be food, drinks, and music by local band The Reign. (Persons must be 21 in order to enter this event.) The cost is $15 per person or $25 per couple, with proceeds benefiting the Oakland Volunteer Fire Department.
The festival will begin on Saturday at 10 a.m., with events and activities slated throughout the day until 6 p.m. Sandusky and his crew will be in several locations throughout town carving sculptures, which will be displayed and lit for as long as they remain frozen. There will be a wine tasting and live music by the Brothers Short, plus bowling with frozen cantaloupes on a bowling alley made of ice. The crowning of the Snow Flake Toddler Prince and Princess will be held on Saturday, with voting to take place inside Marvin’s. Persons may go into the store for voting instructions. Horse-drawn sleigh rides through town will available, and a snowman-building contest will be held in front of the Oakland Train Station. Weather permitting, snowmobile drag races hosted by High Mountain On-Off Road will take place at Winter’s Dairy field, just outside the town limits along Dennett Road, at 11 a.m. The cost will be $15 per class to race, and free to spectators. Registration will be held from 9 to 10:30 a.m. in the Oakland Community Center (armory). Crafts vendors will be at the Oakland fire hall and at the Knights of Pythias Building along Third Street. The Oakland Transportation, Oakland B&O Station, and the Garrett County Historical Society museums will all be open throughout the weekend. For more event information, persons may go to www.agreatsmalltown.com/winter-fest, or contact Jim Johnson at 301-616-4008 or the Oakland Town Hall at 301-334-2691.
