Bruce Murdoch is the new chair of the expanding Horton Winter Carnival, but a good handful of volunteers supporting the project include past carnival chair Valerie Miller.
The annual carnival has traditionally been a Saturday affair, but this year it will run the Friday evening and Saturday, Feb. 22 and 23.
New events include snow sculpturing, judging for the carnival’s snow prince and princess and a figure skating show at the Horton Community Centre.
“It’s a trial expansion,” said Murdoch, a Horton resident who was one of the organizers for Arnprior’s recent 150th-anniversary celebrations.
“If it goes over well, I imagine it will become an annual thing where it’s Friday night and Saturday.”
The carnival gets into gear at 6 p.m. Friday with registrations for the family snow sculpture contest and for the snow prince and princess show.
Sculpturing gets underway at 6:30 p.m., while judging for the carnival prince and princess happens at 7 p.m., with the winners crowned at 7:30 p.m. A free kids-pizza party will follow, although adults are welcomed to purchase slices and join the fun.
Saturday’s schedule gets underway, also at the community centre, at 8 a.m. The breakfast, which runs until 10 a.m., is $6 for adults and $4 for kids. Face painting is from 9 to 10 a.m., with chicken bingo at 10 a.m.
The premium magic show, presented by Magic Delights of Ottawa, runs from 10:15 to 11 a.m., prior to the start of adult and kids games.
Adult games will include cross-cut saw, Swede saw, nail driving, tea boiling, straw bale toss, frozen cow-paddy relay and the Norm Eady horseshoe challenge on ice. Kids games will include the snowball toss, tic-tac-toe, hockey shootout, tug of war, Frisbee toss, dragon eggs game, rainbow coin toss and ice bowling.
Saturday will also feature the return of the sleigh rides, from noon until 3 p.m., prior to snow sculpture judging at 1 p.m., an Arnprior Figure Skating Club show at 2 p.m., and free skating at 3 p.m.
Whatever events people attend, carnival chair Murdoch says, “I hope they all enjoy themselves, but mostly I hope a lot of people come out.”