Fun for all ages at Jim Thorpe Winterfest

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when hearing Jim Thorpe Winterfest?

Is it family fun, horse carriage rides, opera house shows, free live music, food, drinks or scavenger hunts? There’s no wrong answer — Jim Thorpe’s 28th Annual Winterfest had it all.

Jim Thorpe Tourism Agency, also known as JTTA, held its 28th annual Winterfest last weekend. A luminaria display Friday night started off the weekend. In previous years JTTA organized Winterfest on its own, but beginning last year, Mauch Chunk Events was hired to take over the planning process.

Former president of JTTA and current general manager of the Opera House Dan Hugos said that 10 years ago the agency was considering help to coordinate the events that Jim Thorpe holds such as Winterfest, Irish Fest and Fall Foliage but the idea never went anywhere until now.

Hugos said that Winterfest is held at a time that the town and its businesses most need the help, so he saw the importance in the event succeeding.

JTTA consists of 100% volunteers, most who own businesses in town.

“To expect people to volunteer to do all of it was just not realistic,” Hugos said. “MCE is doing a great job with it.”

Current president of JTTA James Dougher also spoke of the importance of the event while commenting on the train rides returning on Saturday for the first time in months since a dispute ended the rides in November.

“The reason people come to Winterfest is to experience Jim Thorpe, and all it has to offer,” Dougher said. “The loss of the train was significant to our merchants.”

The town tends to slow down around this time of year so the trains, music, vendors and various activities and entertainment all come together in creating the charm that Jim Thorpe has, he said.

The two-day event included food and drink specials, live musicians, a blacksmith demonstration by Shannon Kuhn, house carriage rides, train rides, a special Kid’s Club area and two favorites of those who attended — ice bars and the Mug Walk.

In additional to ice sculptures positioned throughout the town, two bars were made entirely of ice. Alcoholic beverages were served and there was a drinking game built into the ice.

The Mug Walk came to Winterfest last year and was a hit again this year with 500 tickets sold for the two-day event. There were two separate trails, both including 15 separate businesses, and visitors stopped at each business on the trail to pick up items such as coupons, embroidery patches, and other keepsakes to put into their official Jim Thorpe coffee mug.

Dougher added that the goal of the Mug Walk is to allow participants to visit different spots in Jim Thorpe that they may have never seen before and get them to come back by giving them a coupon for next time or an item that showcases the business’s merchandise.

“It’s a good way to get customers into their stores,” said Melissa Perry of Lancaster, a Mug Walk participant herself.

Coordinator of Winterfest Kid’s Club Lisa Neff realized that there needed to be more for children at the event so she created Kid’s Club so Winterfest could become truly inclusive for the family.

“I wanted to put a bouncy house in the ball room and people thought I was crazy,” Neff said. “But there needed to be something for the kids.”

She said parents who are walking along the streets and visiting the shops can only bribe their kids with candy for so long. It’s the second year they’re doing it and she said it seems to be a success, with the children having fun and parents being able to unwind inside for a while.

The Kids Club included a bouncy house, snow ball fights, face painting and had scheduled activities throughout both days of the event including a performance by Gregory the Great Academy and a children’s book reading by “Shirley the Snowflake Lady.”

Now that Winterfest is over, Dougher said JTTA will start planning its second annual Irish Fest which takes place March 14-15.