By Dan King
This week has actually felt like winter, and that’s good news for organizers of the Whitehall Winterfest.
At 10 a.m. on Saturday, Mayor Ken Bartholomew and Supervisor George Armstrong will give opening remarks, Rev. Jim Peterson will lead a blessing and Bill Jones will sing “God Bless America.”
Following that, the event gets off to a frigid start at the Whitehall Marina with an event that organizer Marge Mohn calls “very popular,” the Penguin Plunge. Attendees are encouraged to wear “outlandish costumes” to jump into the freezing waters and prizes will be awarded for the best costumes.
There will be refreshments from Historic Grounds during the Penguin Plunge.
Then the action moves from North Main Street, down to Main Street and Skenesborough Drive.
Bigfoot Historian Paul Bartholomew will give a lecture on Whitehall’s noted Sasquatch history at 11 a.m. inside American Legion Post 83 on Main Street.
Across the street, the Skenesborough Museum will be open from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and in the Skenesborough Park there will be a fire to warm up by, refreshments from members of the Whitehall High School National Honor Society, a snowman contest with prizes from the Whitehall High School Peer Helpers and horse-drawn carriage rides by Jeremy Younger.
“The school has been very cooperative and helpful with this,” Mohn said.
Inside the park pavilion, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. artwork from students at WHS will be on display, and the school’s Horizon Club will do both pictures with Disney Princesses and face painting.
Many of the town’s churches will get in on the action as well.
From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Municipal Building on Skenesborough Drive, many of the churches will have crafts and Bible stories for kids. At the same time, there will be sledding and refreshments at the United Methodist Church on Greenmount Cemetery Lane.
“The churches do a lot of good things for our community,” Mohn said. “They put on a lot of community-oriented events during the year.”
Multiple area businesses will be serving meals dedicated to Whitehall’s history. Big G’s Pub will offer the Revolution cocktail and the Bigfoot cheeseurger and fries. Historic Grounds will serve the Benedict Arnold, which is eggs Benedict with ham. And the Whitehall Marina will serve the $17.75 dinner buffet during the event.
According to weather.com, the forecast for Saturday is 10-degrees with a 50 percent chance of snow showers.