For Leah Beers, it’s an event not to be missed.
Beers arrived at the Ramona Hall Saturday morning with her husband Matt and daughters Victoria, seven, and Devon, four, to enjoy the annual Ramona WinterFest Family Event.
“We come out to all the events like this,” said Beers, who lives in nearby Washago. “It’s great to be here. There’s good food, you get some exercise and it’s lots of fun.”
Organizers were also enthused by the positive response to this year’s rendition that featured a Wild West theme.
“It’s been wonderful,” said Eileen Cronk, who sits on the organizing committee. “The crowds are really pouring in. It’s phenomenal.”
Cronk said the weather has been perfect of late to get everybody into the WinterFest spirit.
“The temperature today is great and it’s been snowing for a week,” she said. “It’s a beautiful day and we’ve got a real mix of ages from the very young to the very old.”
Cronk said organizers like to change the theme each year with last year’s event dubbed Viva Las Ramona and previous incarnations paying tribute to Canada, Hawaii and even Red Necks.
Another unique feature of the Ramona event is the poker run where participants can enjoy hiking, snowshoeing or cross-country skiing through a lovely forested, five-kilometre trail and pick up playing cards along the way in the hope of winning a prize.
“We’ve always done the poker run,” Cronk said. “This event has been going on for a long time; well over 15 years.”
Steve Beers and his brother Matt help groom the trails.
“They’re enjoyed by everybody,” Beers said. “We live local so we like to use them too.”
Besides enjoying the poker run and its five checkpoints to pick up playing cards to try to get the best poker hand, Saturday’s offering also featured games, kids’ activities, silent auction and even a euchre party.
“We’re lucky because it’s a gorgeous day,” said Allie Charles, who sits on the Ramona fairgrounds’ board. “We always have a great turnout.”
