Lack Of Snow Getting Serious

It’s starting to get serious. A lack of snow, that is.

Not for the skiers. It’s always been serious for them.

For a couple of local winter festivals in general, and snowshoe softball players in particular.

The 12th annual Deer Park Winter Festival, scheduled Jan. 12-14, and Medical Lake’s Snowfest, Jan. 20, both have snowshoe softball on the agenda.

Thursday’s snow should help, but more will be needed to truly be a winter event.

“What will we do if we don’t have snow?” said Deer Park spokeswoman Bette Cox. “We cry a lot.”

In reality, she said, the all-volunteer committee has become weather-hardened.

“We’ve had rotten weather the last few years,” she said. “One year we had too much snow … then none.”

Besides the snowshoe softball, outdoor events include a dog weight pull, 5K fun run and outhouse race.

Activities will generally be centered around the Civic Center on East Crawford. A Jan. 12 highlight will be a bonfire, fueled by discarded Christmas trees, and a fireworks display that begins at 6 p.m.

The Jan. 13 fun run begins at 9 a.m. Cost is $15 with a race shirt, $4 without. Registration will be accepted until race time.

The dog weight pull will be at the Deer Park South Shopping Center beginning at 1 p.m. Jan. 13 and 10:30 a.m. Jan. 14. There’ll be a special event for novice pullers Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m. For information, call Bob Daymude at 467-1013.

For information on the Winter Festival, call the Chamber of Commerce at 276-5900.

Waterfront Park will be the site of the Medical Lake Snowfest, with a fun run and the coed slowpitch softball tournament both beginning at 10 a.m. Jan. 20.

Cost for the fun run is $15, $17 after Jan. 10. There’s a $125 team fee for the softball event.

Info on both: 299-7781.

, DataTimes