Gretchen (Papik) Jepperson and husband Ryan Jepperson stay warm on their tropical-themed float. This is the first year Papik Motors has sponsored a float.
By Sara Strong
The sixth annual Winterfest celebration brought lots of light to downtown Luverne Saturday and heavy traffic throughout the town.
Chairing the Winterfest Committee for the second year was April Gangestad. She said the weekend ran smoothly from an organizational point of view and the warm weather was nice for outdoor crowds.
"It was a very successful Winterfest," she said, "but I did wish for just a little snow."
The highlight of Winterfest is always the Parade of Lights, which had 33 entries this year.
There’s no true way to measure attendance at the Parade of Lights, but the sidewalks and curbs were filled with onlookers. The parade started at 7 p.m. and featured lighted floats traveling down a darkened Main Street.
Another crowd draw is the craft show, which had 87 booths and 1,200 shoppers this year.
Gangestad said the extra activities that businesses and organizations sponsor help make the Winterfest weekend complete. The SnoMasters swap meet, various church activities and the De-Light-Full 5K run keep the town full of activity.
"We’re looking for new things to do so everybody has something to fill the weekend," Gangestad said.
Winners in the 2002
Parade of Lights were:
Boy Scouts in the Civic Organizations category with the theme "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."
Bethany Lutheran in the Churches category with the theme "CHRISTmas Begins with Christ." Bethany Lutheran Church also won the People’s Choice Award.
Centerpoint Energy Minnegasco in the small business and industry category with the theme "Winter Wonderland."
Hills Stainless Steel in the large business and industry council with the theme "Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree."
Another part of Winterfest is the outdoor lighting contest among participating neighborhoods. Various parts of the city agree to a theme and are judged each year by KQAD. First place prize money of $100 is given to a charity of the winner’s choice, and all participants are given $10 reduction on their city utility bills.
Christmas Lane Winners
First Place in the neighborhood lighting contest was South Fairview Drive with "Star Spangled Cardinal Corners."
Second Place was Northview Drive with "View of the Trees of the North."
Third Place was Victory and Memorial Circles with "Frosty’s Families."
Other activities
About 250 people toured the Rock County homes of Terry and Michelle Vajgrt, Harvey and Cindy Crable, and Bruce and Vicki Baartman. This year, the tour started at the Carnegie Cultural Center, Luverne, for the first time.
Tour of Homes Co-Chair Chantel Connell said, "We had a nice mix of homes. We try to get a new home and an older, Victorian home on the tour."
Dawn Frankenhoff is the other chairman of the event, which is an annual fund-raiser for the Luverne Hockey Association.
Carnegie Director Tammy Makram said the extra traffic was welcome in the Carnegie, which gave tour participants cider and cookies while they waited for shuttles.
The Carnegie, decorated with the Festival of Trees, featured live music and has a gift shop of regional artists’ creations that kept people occupied.
This year the Rock County Pool and Fitness Center added a new feature to help celebrate Winterfest, too. It added open swim times to its regular day and estimates 80 to 90 people attended each day.
The Palace Theatre showed a movie for the first time since the Luverne Fire Department movie in October. It drew about 175 movie-goers.
Winterfest always takes place the first weekend in December. There is no chairman named yet for next year’s Winterfest.