Winter Carnival takes over Whitefish this weekend

The much anticipated main events of the Whitefish Winter Carnival take place this weekend.

The 58th annual Winter Carnival includes the theme of “One Fish, Two Fish, Whitefish.”

This year’s theme is a nod to the many colorful Dr. Seuss children books. The author penned classics such as “Green Eggs and Ham,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “One Fish Two Fish,” and “Oh, the Places You’ll Go.”

The Carnival Gala is set for Friday, Feb. 3 at 6 p.m. at Whitefish Lake Restaurant. Tickets are $60 and are on sale at the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce office. A Carnival button is required to attend.

The main day for the Carnival is Saturday, Feb. 4.

The Penguin Plunge is at 11 a.m. at City Beach. An awards ceremony follows at 12:30 p.m. at Whitefish United Methodist Church.

A pie social is at 12:30 p.m. at St. Charles Catholic Church.

The Grand Parade makes its way through downtown beginning at 3 p.m. The parade route follows Second Street to Spokane Avenue, then turns onto Central Avenue in front of Depot Park before exiting on Third Street.

Grand Marshals for the parade will be local librarians Joey Kositzky, Dan Kohnstamm, Dana Carmichael, Gary Carmichael and Stacy Kelch.

The Rotary Club of Whitefish in partnership with the Whitefish Credit Union is offering their pancake breakfast on Sunday, Feb. 5 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Loyal Order of Moose Lodge. The breakfast is free to all Veterans and their immediate families. Everyone else is $8 per person. All the Veteran needs to show at the door is a valid military ID card or their DD214 Discharge paper.

Also on Sunday, the Glacier Nordic Club is bringing back its Whitefish Winter Carnival weekend Classic Ski and Race for the first time in many years. Classic skiing is the traditional form of Nordic skiing, also known as diagonal stride which is usually skied in tracks.

The Ski and Race will be held at the Nordic Center at the Whitefish Lake Golf Course. There will be 1K, 4K and 12K distances starting at 9 a.m. Winter Carnival themed or traditional Nordic ski costumes are encouraged. Entry fees are free for the 1K and the 4K is $10, and the 12K is $15. The event supports the Glacier Nordic Ski Team which has over 250 youth in its programs. For more information visit glaciernordiclcub.com or call 862-9498.

For more information on the Carnival, visit www.whitefishwintercarnival.com.