Steamboat Springs 99th Annual Winter Carnival!

January 16, 2012 Every year in February the residents of Steamboat Springs gather on Lincoln Ave to celebrate the annual Winter Carnival.  This year being Steamboat’s 99th celebration, it was originally created to help combat “cabin fever” that many locals in Steamboat suffered from while dealing with the harsh Rocky Mountain winters.  Now, people of steamboat band together on this festive weekend to not only get out of the house, but also to celebrate the western heritage of Steamboat and its long-lasting love for the winter sports.

Events are mostly revolved around families and kids and have some sort of tie to Steamboat’s western heritage.  You’ll find kids being towed on skis behind horses while slaloming through cones, kids on sleds being towed by the family dog and kids going off small jumps while being towed by horses.  There are also ski jumping events, snowboard jam sessions, a tubing party and the high school band will be parading down Lincoln on skis.  

Another notorious feature of Steamboats Winter Carnival is the Lighted Man.  The tradition of The Lighted Man started in 1936 with Claudius Banks.  His outfit, consisting of over 200 lights, weighed 100lbs!  Today, the outfit weighs in at 70lb and is warn by Jon Banks, who has been a part of the tradition since 1970.  

Come celebrate Steamboats long lasting tradition of the Winter Carnival starting on Friday, February 11th.  More information can be found on www.steamboattoday.com where you will also find a schedule and description of all the events taking place.  Have fun and we’ll see you soon!