Winter Tradition For 15 Years, Deer Park Festival Has Helped Beat Midwinter Blahs

The anticipation was as powerful as the greasy smell of hamburgers in the air. As the hour neared for the lighting of the bonfire — the traditional beginning of Deer Park’s Winter Festival — two breathless boys raced up on their bikes.

“Ten minutes!” they announced to the kettle-corn maker. “Ten minutes and they’re gonna light the bonfire. We just came from the fire department!”

When asked if they were excited, they played it off like any cool adolescent would.

“Nah. It’s just OK,” they said and rode off to check out the pile of pines behind the city’s Civic Center.

Last Friday’s bonfire was an end as well as a beginning. Burning Christmas trees bids a final farewell to Christmas while welcoming the Winter Festival — three days of neighbors, food, games, races and arts.

The Winter Festival was started 15 years ago by a group of creative people looking for an alternative to watching the snow fall.

“The old timers who started it aren’t around anymore,” explained Thomas Gilbert, this year’s festival chairman. “But they did it to kill the blahs of winter.”

The festival is geared toward kids and neighbors and run by volunteers. Most entrance fees go toward the purchase of prizes and trophies, or toward next year’s festival.

“It’s a wonderful thing for families,” said volunteer Mary Jones.

“I love it! You can stand back anytime during the festival and see grandmas and grandpas, kids and parents dancing. The kids can run around without having to hold their parents’ hands.”

This year’s honored couple, Dave Johnson and Jo Bowlin-Johnson, earned the title for their service to the community. They received Winter Festival sweatshirts, corsages and a plaque.

“We also get to be up on stage,” Bowlin-Johnson added.

“That’s the best part - to be up there in front of the community,” Johnson said. “Our son and daughter really like Winterfest. I like making it happen for them.”

Indeed, Kyle and Kelsey Johnson seemed to be much into the spirit of the weekend.

“I like the food,” said 10-year-old Kyle, grabbing a handful of sweet-and-salty kettle corn, “and karaoke.”

He and Kelsey, 9, reminisced about their favorite Winter Festival moments: Walking their cat - bedecked in cape and bonnet - in the dog walk, Kyle’s karaoke rendition of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and, of course, the bonfire.

Though reportedly smaller than in years past, the bonfire started with a heap of hundreds of Christmas trees dangling droopy silver icicles.

And then, in a flash, a million orange embers leapt into the inky sky. Smoke mingled with the sweet scent of pine. Firefighters kept the blaze under control and the crowd at a distance - far enough to be safe and close enough to be warm.

“It’s cool,” commented Matt Bean, 10. “It’s cool they do this every year so you don’t have to waste all the trees.”

His brother Jeremy agreed that this year’s fire “got going pretty good.”

On the other side of the fire, their mother stood mesmerized by the flames.

“My kids look forward to this all year,” said Nancy Bean. “They always talk about the bonfire.”

Flames devoured the dry needles, leaving charred trunks and skeletal branches. The blaze crackled like a legion of horses stomping on yards of bubble wrap.

At first, the crowd stood reverently, watching one tree after another succumb to the molten flames. But slowly, boys began climbing grimy snow piles, desperate for a sled hill. Groups of girls in threes and fours, wearing carefully applied makeup, scanned the crowd for friends and future love interests.

The quiet yielded to animated conversations, punctuated here and there by a snap or crack from the fire.

And as the fire died, the crowd followed - off to grab a hamburger or soda before the scheduled fireworks and the rest of the Winter Festival.