Vernon’s 64th annual Winter Carnival has officially come to an end.
Unseasonably warm temperatures caused the Carnival to pivot on some of its flagships events like the balloon glow and the snow sculpture carving. Executive director Kris Fuller, says the carnival was still “amazingly successful.”
“I’m very happy with the decisions that we made, I’m very happy that the pivots all went pretty smoking smoothly,” said Fuller.
The BC Snow Sculpture event was changed to an ice carving event due to a lack of snow on the first weekend of carnival. Full says the snow sculpture event has provincial name recognition so she’s like it to return for next year, weather permitting.
As for other pivots from this year, it’s still to be decided if they’ll be back for 2025. Fuller says the carnival team will need to discuss.
Fuller thanked the city of Vernon and carnival teams for their ability to pivot on short notice.
People still had plenty of opportunities to enjoy the winter carnival. Thousands of people showed up to watch the annual parade, and enjoy the balloon glow.
While the public winter carnival might be over, there is still one last event, a volunteer appreciation night will be held next weekend. Fuller asks volunteers who’ve yet to received an invite to reach out because she wants to ensure everyone is properly appreciated.
Fuller says over 300 volunteers showed up to make carnival happen. The final working hours are still being tallied, but she expects that close to 7,000 volunteer hours have been logged.