|
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Staff writer
Hardy Minnesotans are invited to enjoy winter festivities in Ham Lake Park from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13 during the fourth annual Ham Lake Snowbowl.
|
 A fifth-grade student from Johnsville Elementary School in Blaine won the button design contest between students at the school and McKinley Elementary School in Ham Lake.
If you go to the Ham Lake Snowbowl
The Snowbowl is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Ham Lake Park and most events take place throughout the day although plan to arrive earlier to watch the dog sled race and skijoring.
Park at any of these four Ham Lake locations. A shuttle bus will transport people to and from Ham Lake Park starting at 8 a.m. and until 3:45 p.m.
Ham Lake Park (east of Highway 65 on 153rd Avenue)
Ham Lake Lanes (16465 Highway 65 N.E.)
Glen Cary Lutheran Church (15331 Central Ave. N.E.)
Quad Central Motorsports (16421 Aberdeen St. N.E.)
|
There will be plenty of activities to watch or participate in - dog sledding, dog pulling, skijoring, miniature golf, frisbee golf, broomball, ice fishing, expos of businesses and snowmobiles, snow sculptures, a variety of children’s games and helicopter rides.
The first Ham Lake Snowbowl Snowball dance will kick off at 7 p.m. Feb. 13 at the Majestic Oaks Golf Club, 701 Bunker Lake Blvd. N.E.
The cover charge for the dance is $8 for singles and $15 for couples. A cash bar and appetizers will be available. Casual attire is encouraged.
There will be swing dance lessons hosted by Bill and Shannon Butler of Blaine from 7 to 8:30 p.m. A Minneapolis band, Retro Six, will start playing a selection of music from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s starting at 7:45 p.m.
The medallion hunt officially begins Monday, Feb. 8, but the first clue will be posted at the Ham Lake Area Chamber of Commerce’s Web site (www.hamlakecc.org).
Medallion hunters must purchase a Snowbowl button in order to win the $500 prize.
Buttons are $5 each or four buttons for $17. They can be purchased at Ham Lake City Hall, the chamber of commerce’s office, Holtz Landscaping or Majestic Oaks.
Increasingly popular
Chris Mickman, chairperson of the Snowbowl committee, said he and the organizers who formed this winter event are not surprised that it has become so popular.
“We knew that there’s a pent-up demand for Minnesotans to get out and have fun,” he said.
The Snowbowl had a modest first year in 2007 with a couple hundred braving temperatures that were around 20 below zero, according to Mickman.
The mercury in the thermometer rose in 2008, but the winds whipped away some smaller tents to create a different set of challenges. The number of people more than doubled from the first year though.
Dog sled and skijoring added last year brought in competitors from outside the community, increasing the number of attendees to over 2,000, Mickman said.
What’s new
To get a lot of the dog competitors back, the Snowbowl is one week later than the previous three years because there is a large skijoring competition with which Mickman did not want to conflict.
Moving the date meant the Snowbowl will not coincide with the Boy Scout ice fishing event on Ham Lake. To make up for this, Quad Central Motorsports is sponsoring an ice fishing contest.
Another new aspect of the Snowbowl is a business expo that will be inside a heated tent on the lake. A dozen businesses have signed up so far, according to Kim Hogdal of the Ham Lake Area Chamber of Commerce.
Sponsors
There are many more sponsors this year compared with previous years, Mickman said, which helps bring in more revenue to offset the costs of putting on the event, which is jointly presented by the city of Ham Lake and the Ham Lake Area Chamber of Commerce.
The main sponsor for the Snowbowl this year is U-Pull R-Parts out of East Bethel.
Other event sponsors are BioLife Plasma Services, The Midwest Skijorers Club, Bromley Printing, Inc., Mike Orn of State Farm Insurance, 21st Century Bank, Majestic Oaks Golf Club, Paul’s Barber Shop, Victory Auto Service and Glass, Quad Central Motor Sports, Butler & Associates Insurance Agency and Village Bank.
Eric Hagen is at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
|
