Winter in the Northwoods brings a lifestyle all its own. We bundle up and refuse to let a little cold weather and snow keep us indoors. We strap on the snowshoes or cross-country skis and fire up the snowmobiles to enjoy all that this snowy season has in store.

Another winter staple is “The Winter Festival”. Here in Rhinelander I am so excited for the first annual Lions Fisheree and Winter Festival coming up in just a few weeks, because it means full blown community participation in a weekend full of family fun.

The Lions Fisheree isn’t a new activity; in fact, this will be the 36th annual Fisheree. The event will be held on Feb. 11-12 at the Hodag Park Boat Landing. It’s an activity that has a great reputation for family fun. For the kids, anyone who participates and catches a fish gets a prize. The stakes are pretty high for the adults too, as each day $500 will be awarded to the longest northern caught. The prize money doesn’t stop flowing, so your chances to win are pretty good.

Ice fishing not your thing? This year we’ve got plenty of other activities for you to participate in! Join in the Winter Festival fun by playing in the Broomball tournament. Teams need somewhere between six and 12 people to play, so grab some friends and sign up to take home first place.

Maybe winter softball is more your speed, we’ve got that too. Teams for softball need at least eight players. We’ll be playing out on the ice, and the catch is you can’t use a baseball or softball glove. You can sign up for either of these events, or get more information at the Chamber.

Another new addition, the Hodag Snow Dash. This 5K snowshoe race will be held Saturday morning, and there will be an individual race as well as a family relay race portion of the event. If you don’t have your own snowshoes but would still like to race, we’ll have snowshoes available to borrow as well. In addition, we’ll have snowshoe and cross-country ski demos after the race on Saturday as well, so you can get some tips from the experts and try out some of the equipment.

The weekend will also include other activities, like snow painting for the kids, lots of raffle prizes and plenty of food! The Winter Festival is made possible through a great community partnership between the Rhinelander Lions Club, Rhinelander Soccer Club, Rhinelander Softball Association, Mel’s Trading Post, the YMCA of the Northwoods and the Chamber of Commerce.

If you have questions about any of the events, feel free to give us a call at the Chamber at (715) 365-7464, and we’ll get you the information you need. We hope you’ll pick an activity and join us on Feb. 11-12 to kick off the Lions Fisheree and Winter Festival with a bang.

Rhinelander Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lara Reed is available at (715) 365-7464.