The Lotus Discovery Center in Brookfield will be hosting their 4th Annual Winter Fest on January 30, 2010.

This is the first annual collaboration of the Brookfield Ice Harvest, which took place on the last Saturday in January every year for the last 30 years, and Lotus Lake Discovery Center. We’re pleased to host this event with Al Wilder, our resident ice harvester, said a spokes person for the center.

This is a wonderful event that draws people outdoors to celebrate winter, a season that lasts so long in Vermont. People can arrive at 10a.m., and Al Wilder of Brookfield will lead the ice harvesting demonstration at 10:30 a.m. This is a great opportunity to learn about the tradition of harvesting ice from our local ponds and lakes for use as refrigeration. Participants will have a chance to use the authentic tools to pull out their own block of ice.

At 11:30am there will be a barbeque, with bratwurst, hot dogs, chili and hot and cold drinks for sale. People can enjoy their food around an outdoor fire that will be burning all day. After lunch there will be dogsledding demonstration with Joan Neeley and her team of Siberian huskies. This will include a brief talk about the history of dogsledding, sled dog care, and an introduction of the friendly four footed athletes. Our musher will then demonstrate running a team of dogs. Finally, the dogs are reattached to the dog truck and participants can take a place on the gangline to see what it’s like to pull a sled like a sled dog or be a musher on the back of the sled. For those people big and small with lots of energy, we will have a “dogsled” race with two sleds.

After an exciting afternoon of dogs, folks can embark on snowshoeing and animal tracking trek. Our 300 acre property offers wonderful opportunities to see signs of wildlife. From the dainty tracks of mice to the precise tracks of red fox, we will be on the lookout for signs of these animals.