Pit spitting, hockey, ice carving, toilet seat tossing: Here's four outdoor winter events in Door County
DOOR COUNTY - Leave it to a tourist destination like Door County to offer a number of ways to get outside and have fun in the February air.
About a month has passed since Christmas and New Year's Day, and after a quiet January, community and business associations are ready to host their annual outdoor festivals and events to cure the post-holiday winter doldrums.
And they're coming after the changes and uncertainty of the winter of 2021, when the surging COVID-19 pandemic on the Peninsula saw these events canceled or modified from their usual formats. Some changes will occur from the usual this February — the popular Groundhog Day Parade in Ellison Bay isn't taking place, for one example — but one way or another, residents and visitors have the opportunity to get outside and take part in, or watch, a number of fun events.
So, here are four ways Door County residents and visitors can head out into the community and shake off those winter blahs.
Fish Creek: Winterfest, Feb. 5-6
After last year's cancellation, the Peninsula's best-known outdoor (mostly) winter party returns for a 34th year with its usual collection of fun, quirky contests and games, along with live music, food, a fun run and more.
First created by local resident Ron Merkle as the Winter Games and presented annually by the Fish Creek Civic Association, Fish Creek Winterfest is centered around the large, heated main tent in Clark Park, just off the bay of Green Bay, with most of the fun and games taking place Feb. 5, the Saturday of the fest.
The tent opens at 10 a.m. that Saturday, with games held inside until 3 p.m. and on the ice outside. Quirky, popular games such as the toilet seat toss, ice bowling and disc golf (new this year, available from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.) take place outside, with minnow races among the contests under the big top.
Also under the tent is the Stumpf Fiddle Contest at 2 p.m., now featuring two divisions, Beginner and Pro. Advance registration is required to participate.
Also known as a polka cello, pogo cello, bumbass, hum strum, devil’s stick or a jingling johnny, a stumpf fiddle is typically made of a broom handle or other long piece of wood with a rubber ball or spring on its bottom end; a pie tin, tambourine or other similarly shaped resonating device; a wire strung from top to bottom, across the pie tin; and bells or other noisemakers. Thumping the instrument on the ground produces a bass drum sound, while striking the wire over the tin makes a snare drum sound.
The annual Smokin' Hot Chili Cook-off in the tent is off this year because of concerns over the pandemic, but popular blues-rockers Dirty Deuce will take the tent stage to play from 3 to 5 p.m. Fireworks will explode over the bay at 5:30.
If visitors aren't able to get close to the park when arriving, or for those who want to hang around in the village, free trolley rides around the village are available from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The festival wraps up Feb. 6 with the 12th annual Fruit Loop Run, a half-mile fun run/walk at 10:30 a.m. that begins and ends at the park tent for participants in their coolest or craziest costumes — yes, costume prizes will be awarded — with a certain type of colorful cereal served afterward.
Also, for those who will be in Fish Creek all week, Winterfest organizers are bringing back their Sasquatch Hunt. The object of the hunt will be in a different location in the village each day from Monday, Jan. 31, to Friday, Feb. 4. Those who find Sasquatch will also find part of a password and clue for where he will be the next day. The creature then will be at Winterfest on Feb. 5; those who've collected the five pieces of the password can bring them to the gatekeeper between 10 and 11 a.m. to be entered in a raffle for prizes valued at $200.
To sign up for the Stumpf Fiddle Contest or for more information, call 920-868-2316 or visit visitfishcreek.com.
Fish Creek: Orchard Country Cherry Pit Spit, Feb. 5
While Lautenbach's Orchard Country Winery and Market isn't hosting the winter festival it's traditionally held in conjunction with Fish Creek's Winterfest, it is holding one of its festival's most popular events, the Cherry Pit Spit contest. Starting at 1 p.m. Feb. 5, people can head outdoors at the orchard to see who can spit a pit farther than the rest; prizes will be awarded in several classes.
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Indoors, Orchard Country also will offer wine and hard cider tastings or flights, drink specials and fresh bakery and snacks. Back outside, Mayberry's Carriages gives scenic horse-drawn sleigh rides through the orchards (snow and weather permitting; reservations required by calling 920-421-1152).
The market also is a pickup and drop-off site for the free trolley rides to and from Winterfest in the village.
Orchard Country is at 9197 State 42, just south of Fish Creek. For more information, call 866-946-3263 or visit orchardcountry.com.
Sister Bay: Door County Pond Hockey Tournament, Feb. 12
Back after a year off because of the pandemic, the eighth annual Door County Pond Hockey Tournament is making a change from its original plan, although it's the same change it made two years ago.
The event was scheduled to take place on Kangaroo Lake in Baileys Harbor, where it was born in 2013, but concerns over ice conditions on the lake and a shortage of helpers to prepare the rinks and run the tournament at that location caused organizers to move it for a second time to the rinks at the Sister Bay Sports Complex. According to a post announcing the change on the tournament's Facebook page, the Sister Bay venue received rave reviews from participants after the 2020 event, and the lighted rinks allow for play to continue into the night, which wasn't possible on the lake.
Rinks will be set up for four-person teams from across the state and elsewhere — the most recent tournament had 50 teams enter, and several squads traditionally come from the Chicago area — compete for first place and the Stanley Thermos trophy in eight divisions. Goalies are not allowed. All teams will play at least three games, 30 minutes each with a halftime break. Registrations are closed because all divisions are full, but teams can be placed on a waiting list.
Spectators are welcome, and concessions, including beer from One Barrel Brewing, will be available. The Sister Bay Shuttle Bus will run between the rinks and establishments in the village every 20 minutes from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and it's free.
The Sister Bay Sports Complex is at 2155 Autumn Court, about a quarter-mile from downtown. For more information, visit doorcountypondhockey.com or facebook.com/DoorCountyPondHockeyTourney.
Sturgeon Bay: Fire & Ice, Feb. 18-19
One of the few festivals that managed to take place during the height of the pandemic last February was Fire & Ice, the citywide ice and snow carving competition sponsored by Destination Sturgeon Bay, albeit with some changes and limitations. And assuming public health conditions don't trend downward in the next couple of weeks, it's back to mostly normal for a 17th go-around.
The highlight of the weekend is the carving. Twenty blocks of ice and six blocks of snow will be turned into sculptural works of art by carvers, from beginners to professionals, throughout downtown Sturgeon Bay starting at 9 a.m. Spectators are welcome to look over the carvers' shoulders as they work. A brochure with carving locations will be available at the Destination Sturgeon Bay Welcome Center, 36 S. Third Ave.
Carvers compete for awards in advanced and beginner divisions, with the awards ceremony at 3 p.m. at the welcome center. Prospective carvers are welcome to apply to take part by emailing carly@sturgeonbay.net for more information.
The public can participate in the third annual Community Snowman Build at Martin Park. Snowman materials will be provided, and those who take a photo of themselves with their newly built friend can post it to social media with the hashtags #SturgeonBay and #NoBadDaysinSturgeonBay.
To get around to all the carving locations and Sturgeon Bay businesses and establishments, free Door County Trolley rides are available throughout downtown from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The weekend officially kicks off in Sturgeon Bay on Feb. 18 with the Candlelight Ski & Snowshoe from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Crossroads at Big Creek nature preserve. Trails that wind through Crossroads’ 125-acre preserve will be lit by luminaries, and Crossroads will provide hot chocolate and have a warming fire blazing away. It is free to take part, although donations are appreciated.
The night of Feb. 19, after the ice carving and snowman making, is the Fire & Ice Gala and Auction at Stone Harbor Resort, back this year after the 2021 gala was changed to an online event. The usually sold-out, black-tie gala features a three-course dinner, a Bubbles & Bling Raffle presented by T. Simon Jewelers, and dancing to live music by regional R&B favorites Big Mouth and the Power Tool Horns. Tickets are $100 each.
Bidding on the 70 silent auction and 10 live auction packages begins online Feb. 16 via Handbid.com and continues until 10 p.m. Feb. 19 at the gala, with prices starting at the most recent bid made on Handbid.
Closing the festival is a Winter on the Water Fireworks Show over the Sturgeon Bay channel. The fireworks will be launched from the train spur bridge next to Sonny’s Pizzeria on the waterfront.
For gala tickets or more information, call 920-743-6246 or visit sturgeonbay.net.
Contact Christopher Clough at 920-741-7952, 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Door County: Pit spitting, hockey, ice carving, flying toilet seats
