Rangeley Winterpalooza was ‘huge success’

RANGELEY — The Rangeley Skating Club and the Rangeley Lakes Chamber of Commerce have announced the 4th annual Rangeley Winterpaloozah winners.

The winter celebration, with activities and competitions for the entire family, was a huge success, organizers. The event took place on Sunday, Feb, 17 on Haley Pond and at Rangeley Town Park.
The Skating Club and the Rangeley Lakes Chamber of Commerce teamed up again this year to host the event, which included all the favorites from past years — skating, curling, pond hockey, fat tire bikes, snowshoes, kick sleds, horse and cart rides, marshmallow roast, snow golf, snow kite, snow castle and, new this year, saucer bowling.
There was also a slate of pay-to-enter competitions for the entire family, with prizes awarded to winners in each competition. Competitions included Paloozathon Race, Dog Keg Pull, Cardboard Sled Race, Firewood Toss, Fat Tire Bike Race and the Paloozah Carry (a variation on the popular wife-carry event).
Winners of the competitions were:
Paloozathon Race: Men – Jeff Berman; Women – Katie Pye.
Dog Keg Pull: Small Dogs – Celine Kuhn with Brady; Medium Dogs – Nancy and Gary Perlson with Scout; Large Dogs – Echo McDonough with Lulu.
Cardboard Sled: Best Design – Hunter White; Race – Geoffrey Chase.
Firewood Toss: Men – Ben Samson; Women – Maureen Clancy; Youth – Luke Gagne.
Fat Tire Bike Race: Amy Hediger.
Paloozah Carry: Zac Lounsbury and Mia Schulett.
This year, agents from the Rangeley Border Patrol station were on hand to meet with participants, take photos and answer questions. Border Patrol Agent Anthony Atkinson ssaid, “The Rangeley Border Patrol Station would like to thank everyone who attended the fourth annual Winterpaloozah. We had a great time meeting everyone, taking pictures, and answering questions. We look forward to seeing everyone at many more of the upcoming events within Rangeley and the surrounding communities.”
Also joining the event and meeting with event participants were members and equipment from Rangeley Fire and Rescue.
Event co-organizer Karen A. Ogulnick, representing the Rangeley Lakes Chamber of Commerce, said, “A tremendous amount of planning goes into organizing an event with so many activities. The successful results reflect the hard word of a small, but highly dedicated group of people. The satisfaction is in seeing all of the people coming out and enjoying the day with friends and family.”
Linda Dexter, event co-organizer representing the Rangeley Skating Club, said, “Rangeley is a fabulous area for winter play. Haley Pond was covered with people having fun, a great sight to see. With the mountains as a backdrop, it looks like a scene out of vintage paintings.”
The organizers were very pleased with the turnout and expressed their appreciation for all the event sponsors and the volunteers who worked so hard to organize the event – and are already looking forward to planning next year’s fifth annual Rangeley Winterpaloozah.