Tamworth Outing Club and Chocorua Lake Conservancy 2025 Winter Fest
Saturday, February 8, 2–10 PM
Food and fire, nature and art, indoors and outdoors, community connections and fun!
On Saturday, February 8 from 2–10 PM, join us for Winter Fest, a fun-filled community event offering a variety of indoor and outdoor activities for all ages.
This collaborative event, held annually at the Preserve at Chocorua (who are kind enough to donate their entire property) was designed to benefit Chocorua Lake Conservancy, the Tamworth Outing Club and the entire Tamworth community.
Photo: Betsy Memishian
From 2–5 PM, as weather permits, we’ll have sledding and snowshoeing (bring your own equipment if you have it), a communal snow sculpture, a winter camping expo and display of handmade snowshoes and trapping gear with Sheldon Perry and Dave Evans; [vegetable bowling and seed roasting with MWVEG;] winter stories by the fire with storyteller Andy Davis (at 4 PM), a Winters of the Past exhibit with with Tamworth History Center with artifacts, ancestral recipes, evergreen needle tea with honey and an explanation of its benefits, and sculptor Andrea Kennett’s statue of Tamworth’s great sled dog, Chinook; a cold water dipping expo with the Otters and a chance to dip, a CLC Shoreline Restoration display with CLC Stewardship Director Debra Marnich; winter creative activities; as well as bonfires, treats, & hot drinks.
Photo: Betsy Memishian
At 5 PM, we’ll head indoors (mostly) for beer & wine by donation; winter stories by the fire with Andy Davis at 5:20 PM; cocktail/dinner music by Trail Magic (Peter Kimball, guitar; Kal Csigi, fiddle & mandolin; Amy Berrier, fiddle); a delicious supper provided by The Farmstand in Chocorua (vegetarian & dairy- and gluten-free options) and dessert; and at 7:30 PM, the Tamworth Outing Club Second Saturday Dance with White Mountain Céilí Band and caller Eric Rollnick.
We’ll also have a silent auction with art and wonderful local experiences from 2–7 PM. All auction and event proceeds will benefit the Tamworth Outing Club and Chocorua Lake Conservancy.
Outdoor activities from 2–5 PM are free/by donation; no registration is required. Tickets are required indoors for supper, indoor storytelling, and the evening dance: $10 for kids (6 and under are free); adults are “choose your price”: $25, $50, or $75. Please choose your ticket price based on your economic situation and what you are routinely able to pay for meals out and cultural events. Evening ticket sales help support free afternoon events for everyone, and sliding scale tickets help us make events accessible. Any net proceeds will support TOC's many community activities for children and everyone, and CLC's protection of and care for land in the Chocorua Lake Basin. Please register in advance; this event sold out early last year, and tickets will not be available at the door. Storm date is March 15.
This is a community-inspired effort with net proceeds going to the TOC and CLC. We could not do it without the assistance of many volunteers and businesses who donate their time, energy and products for the good of the community.
If you are coming from out of town and would like to book a room at The Preserve and make a weekend of it, please contact Anna Paddock by email or (603) 323-6252. Room rental proceeds will also benefit the work of CLC & TOC.
About (some of) the Presenters:
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.
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.
The Otters are Tamworth’s own year-round cold-water dipping group.
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.
The mission of the Tamworth History Center is to preserve, share and celebrate Tamworth’s unique stories over the years with as many people of all ages as possible!
Trail Magic is Amy Berrier on the fiddle, Kal Csigi on the fiddle & mandolin, and Peter Kimball on the guitar.
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.
About the Tamworth Outing Club:
The mission of the Tamworth Outing Club is to organize and host recreational, inclusive activities for the benefit of Tamworth residents and visitors of all ages. We are dedicated to providing year-round opportunities that bring people together for social and recreational enjoyment, as well as an appreciation of our local traditions and the natural world around us. Our goal is to offer relevant programs that engage our community in meaningful ways while continuing to evolve in an ever-changing future.
Go to www.tamworthoutingclub.org for updated information and calendar of events, or follow us on Facebook.
About Chocorua Lake Conservancy:
CLC is a nonprofit land trust founded in 1968 to protect the scenic and natural resources of the Chocorua Lake Basin and surrounding area. CLC is committed to providing visitors and residents convenient and attractive public access to Chocorua Lake and trails on nearby conservation lands. For more information, including how to get involved, please visit www.chocorualake.org.
Banner image: This beautiful mural was created by community members at the first annual TOC/CLC Winter Fest in 2023.