Crowd braves the cold for frozen fun

Carter Williams suffered the consequence Saturday afternoon of playing broomball outside on the frozen lake in single-digit temperatures — without gloves.

He and brother Colton Williams, 10, beat his other brother Avery Williams, 12, and mother Carrie Williams.

But it took longer to warm up the 14-year-old’s hands than the 10-6 defeat took to complete.

His hands were bright pink, but his fingertips and fingernails turned white.

Bent over a bonfire at a picnic area near the frozen water at Black Moshannon State Park, he attempted to warm his hands.

“It’s so painful,” he said. “It actually hurts to bend and move them. I almost feel the pain through my whole arm.”

But without gloves was the only way he said he could properly grasp a broom during the game.

And he was hardly the only person chilly on Saturday.

Carter and his family were among about 200 people who participated in the Fun in the Snow at Black Mo winter festival.

By noon, temperatures dipped to 3 degrees, according to a park thermometer. By 2 p.m. it rose to 9 degrees, and then dipped back to 3 degrees by the end of the event at 4 p.m.

The Winter Fest is an event that Park Manager Jessica Lavelua said was created about seven years ago to attract people to the park to celebrate winter and participate in wintery recreation.

It included activities like ice harvesting, skating, bowling and golf, guided hikes and broomball.

And new this year was a biking event held in partnership with Freeze Thaw Cycles.

Lavelua said the State College-based bike company donated fat-tire bikes for people to ride in the snow.

The park also was loaned new equipment for people to cross-country ski and snowshoe.

“We’re happy to see people out,” Lavelua said. “We’re never sure with the weather what it’s going to be like, but by the end of the day, I’m guessing we’ll see about 200 people.”

By 1 p.m. — just an hour into winter fest — Lavelua said about 40 people were at the park for the event.

“The planning part is easy, but we’re at Mother Nature’s mercy,” she said. “We only knew on Thursday that the water would be frozen and thick enough for activities.”

Longtime volunteer Shawn Kirk, of Kylertown, said he was responsible for creating the ice miniature golf activity — a favorite among families with young children.

“We see a lot of little kids do this,” he said. “We’re lucky we got some snow so we could separate the holes and create obstacles.”

He began volunteering for special park events about 10 years ago.

“It’s rewarding because we’re getting people out here to experience all the park has to offer, and showing people that there can be fun and a lot to do all times of the year, even if it feel like we’re in the tundra,” Kirk said.

This story was originally published February 13, 2016 at 9:57 PM with the headline "Crowd braves the cold for frozen fun."