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Snow, indoor fun combine at Lombard winter carnival

The sun was shining and the snow was sparkling early Saturday afternoon for the Lombard Park District’s annual Winter Carnival.

But this year, most of the fun was indoors.

After a frigid Friday, organizers decided to move most of the carnival games indoors, said Matt Fairbanks, program manager.

So the swishing of snow pants mixed with the sounds of excited youngsters playing carnival games for candy inside the Lombard Community Building.

Sharon Vish’s children, Lillian, 5, and Rachel, 2, showed some early athletic prowess as the Lombard girls threw balls at a large, Velcro dart board.

“This is her sport,” park district deputy director Rick Poole said as Rachel hit a bull’s-eye.

And Rob Ferguson’s 4-year-old son, Carter, displayed balancing ability as he kept a tall peacock feather upright by balancing one end on his hand.

“We were here last year for the Lombard festival, so we came back again,” Ferguson, of Mount Prospect, said.

An extra coating of snow Saturday morning prevented carnival-goers from ice skating on the basketball court at Lombard Common Park. The park district froze the court Friday, but decided not to clear snow from the surface to allow ice skating Saturday, Fairbanks said.

The train around the community building’s parking lot still ran outside, along with two carnival games: a strength meter and a quarterback toss.

Aamir Afzaal, 7, of Lombard, tried both outdoor games before taking a train ride with his dad and sister. The trio spent most of their time indoors, enjoying free hot chocolate, making ornaments in a craft room and playing carnival games like a ring toss.

Even though most of the entertainment stayed inside, the snow on the ground gave the event enough winter to live up to its name, Poole said.

“There’s years where the weather is beautiful and we can do stuff all over the place,” he said. “But some years, there’s no snow.”

  Rob Ferguson of Mt. Prospect watches his son, Carter Ferguson, 4, balance a peacock feather Saturday during the annual Winter Carnival at the Lombard Community Building. DANIEL WHITE/dwhite@dailyherald.com
  Vinnie Styburski, 4, of Montgomery, tries to knock down some cans Saturday in a carnival game at the Lombard Park District’s Winter Carnival. DANIEL WHITE/dwhite@dailyherald.com