We’re sorry, No More Tickets Are Available for Winter Fest—We are at Full Capacity. No Walk-ins, Please.
Food and fire, nature and art, indoors and outdoors, community connections and fun!
The Preserve at Chocorua. Photo courtesy of Brea McDonald Photography
Want to stay at the Preserve at Chocorua for the whole weekend? Room proceeds will also benefit the TOC/CLC. Get in touch HERE for more information.
On Saturday, February 4 from 2:00-7:30PM, join Chocorua Lake Conservancy (CLC) and Tamworth Outing Club (TOC) for a Winter Fest at The Preserve at Chocorua. Come gather with friends and neighbors for fun activities indoors and out (with outdoor gathering spaces for those who prefer not to be indoors in groups right now).
Dave Evans with some of his winter camping and trapping gear. Photo: Juno Lamb
From 2:00-5:00PM, we’ll have a winter camping expo with winter tents on display as well as snowshoes and trapping gear, with Dave Evans and Sheldon Perry; a winter adaptation and furbearer learning station for kids and everyone with CLC Stewardship Director Debra Marnich—explore the pelts, skulls, scat, and tracks of animals present in our NH winters; a nature scavenger hunt for kids with Sumac Grant-Johnson (at 2:30!); bonfires & s’mores; hot drinks and treats; and indoor winter crafts for all ages with Suzanne Birdsall-Stone and others; and, depending on the conditions, a communal snow sculpture with naturalist educators Lucy Gatchell and Dexter Harding, as well as sledding, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing (bring your own equipment).
Marshmallows! Photo courtesy of Brea McDonald Photography
From 5:00PM, we’ll head indoors (mostly) for a delicious supper by Kimball Packard of The Farmstand and friends; beer & wine by donation; storytelling by storyteller Andy Davis at 5:45PM; music (and maybe some contra dances) with the White Mountain Céilí Band; and cap off the evening with a moonlight Owl Prowl with Debra Marnich at 7:00PM. We’ll also have a silent auction with handmade quilts and knitwear, art, collector’s items, and more from 2:00-7:00PM. All auction and event proceeds to benefit the Tamworth Outing Club and the Chocorua Lake Conservancy. (Scroll to the bottom of this page for a sneak peak at some of the auction items.)
The barn at The Preserve at Chocorua. Photo courtesy of Brea McDonald Photography
This event is by donation—suggested donation of $5 for kids and $10-$25 for adults. Please register in advance below—no walk-ins—so that we know how many to cook for, and so that we can let you know of changes to the schedule. Please register separately for the Owl Prowl (and find more information) HERE as space is limited. Then, on Sunday, February 5, head over to Wonalancet for the TOC’s sled dog events. A weekend of fun in the beautiful outdoors!
We’re sorry, No More Tickets Are Available for Winter Fest—We are at Full Capacity. No Walk-ins, Please.
About the Presenters:
Storyteller Andy Davis. Photo courtesy of Andy Davis
Suzanne Birdsall-Stone has a lifelong commitment to honoring the creative process, building community, and offering/supporting enriching activities for people of all ages.
Storyteller Andy Davis carries a rucksack bulging with Celtic folktales, personal stories, shaggy dogs, and tales of world-improving heroes throughout New England, sometimes farther, including to the remote reaches of Zoom-land. He crafts his yarns in front of the hearth in a little half-finished home-made house a mile from Tamworth Village.
Dave Evans is a former Alaska wilderness resident (hunter, fisherer, trapper, dog musher) and a retired National Park Service Ranger.
Sumac Grant-Johnson has been a lover of the woods and White mountains since she was a child. She spends as much time as possible in the woods and on the trails. When not in the woods she often spends her time reading about plants, animals and expanding her knowledge about foraging wild foods. She loves sharing this knowledge with others, especially children. Sumac is a trail steward for the White Mountain National Forest and land steward for CLC.
CLC Stewardship Director Debra Marnich holds a BS in Zoology and an MS in Forestry. Her major interests and professional focus areas include combining wildlife and forestry practices to manage for both sound silvicultural and optimum wildlife habitat, creating early successional and bird nesting habitat, pollinator habitat creation, promoting small diverse farms local food production/agriculture, promoting land conservation and protection, environmental education, and integrating all resources concerns to create a balanced conservation system.
Sheldon Perry is passionate about spending time in the woods and helping to preserve and protect them for generations to come. As a parent with two children, it was easy to turn to camping as exciting mini-adventures to interesting and beautiful places. Winter camping became a way for Sheldon to open up his outdoor world to a season not yet available to him.
White Mountain Céilí Band. Image courtesy of White Mountain Céilí Band.
White Mountain Céilí Band is Dexter Harding on the tenor banjo, Fiona Howell on the flute, Siena Kaplan-Thompson on the fiddle, and Mike Levine on the guitar and occasional concertina. They play Irish, Scottish and Cape Breton instrumental music with warmth and joy, as well as the occasional song. Lucy Gatchell calls dances with them sometimes.
A sneak peak at some of the silent auction items:
About the Tamworth Outing Club:
The Tamworth Outing Club was established in 1935 to promote and encourage outdoor sports and recreation, to provide or secure recreational facilities, and aid in the development of programs that provide outdoor recreation opportunities to the people of Tamworth. To fulfill this mission, we are engaged in a wide variety of activities. Our Tamworth Contra Dances have been held on the second Saturday of each month at the Tamworth Town House since 1937! Our historic sled dogs races on Lake Chocorua have moved to beautiful Wonalancet. Our 2023 event will be held on Sunday, February 5—a great follow up to Winter Fest! These flagship events help ensure that we can continue our programs aimed at providing opportunities for the youth of Tamworth to build lifelong outdoor recreation skills. For example, we partner with ESSC and the Kenneth Brett School to organize the junior ski program and to ensure that any KBS student can participate. Your donations support these and other programs that provide Tamworth with excellent outdoor recreation opportunities. For more information, please visit www.tamworthoutingclub.org
About the Chocorua Lake Conservancy:
The CLC is a nonprofit land trust founded in 1968 to protect the scenic and natural resources of the Chocorua Lake Basin and surrounding area. The CLC is committed to providing convenient and attractive public access to Chocorua Lake and trails on nearby conservation lands for visitors and local residents. For more information, including ways you can get involved, please visit www.chocorualake.org.
Banner image courtesy of Peaco Todd.