Traverse City Record-Eagle

Opinion

February 22, 2012

When you get stuck with lemons ...

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When you get lemons, you make lemonade. When your winter festivals get sunny skies and temps in the 30s, you enjoy the weather.

Despite mild temperatures and an alarming lack of snow, at least two of Traverse City's favorite winter doings have managed to survive the bizarre winter of 2012.

Although the White Pine Stampede ski race was grounded by a lack of snow, the North American Vasa cross-country event went off as scheduled a week later; in fact, many racers said conditions on the Vasa trail, which had been worked on by dozens of volunteers, were superb.

And over the weekend, the Cherry Capital Winter Wowfest drew big crowds of shoppers and gawkers downtown, to the Open Space and the city parking lot at Grandview Parkway and Union, where there were ice carvings and a soup-making contest.

"It was like the Cherry Festival — except in snow boots, hats and mittens," one retailer said.

Some area hotels said they were busy over the weekend. While a few community winter festivals have been canceled around the region, others have made lemonade.

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