Warm weather not stopping Hawthorn Woods' Winter Carnival
Hawthorn Woods' parks boss says he's learned to be ready for any kind of weather when it comes to the village's Winter Carnival.
Brian Sullivan, the village's director of parks and recreation, said a projected high temperature in the 50s won't stop the Winter Carnival from running as scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Community Park, Old McHenry and Quentin roads.
"We're set to go, but it's more a balmy carnival than Winter Carnival," Sullivan quipped Friday.
At least the unseasonably warm weather won't force the free fiesta to be postponed as it did in January 2014, when Hawthorn Woods officials deemed it too frigid for the Winter Carnival.
With the snow all but gone, some events originally on Saturday's schedule cannot occur. That list includes a snowman-building contest, snowshoeing race and sledding.
In addition, Sullivan said, a three-legged race on a Community Park field won't happen because of soggy conditions.
However, organizers have come up with other action conducive to warmer weather.
Sullivan said there now will be a miniature train ride and additional skill games, such as bean bags and one similar to Bozo's buckets. Refreshments, entertainment, music, horse-drawn carriage rides and more remain on the agenda.
Hawthorn Woods officials cited a forecast of single-digit temperatures and high winds when the inaugural Winter Carnival did not go off as scheduled the evening of Jan. 31, 2014. Winter Carnival debuted Feb. 22, 2014, which led officials to stay with a similar date in 2015 and 2016 in an effort to avoid an Arctic chill.
Sullivan said he expects discussion on whether the next Winter Carnival should be a little earlier in February.
"We always know we have a Plan B," he said.