By Meg Peters
Review Co-editor
The battle for the golden toilet seat is only a couple sittings away.?
Similarly, the Ice Golf Challenge will be looking for winter golfers.
So grab your golf club or hop in an outhouse because the 2016 Winter Fest Carnival is right around the corner.?
Just as last year, multiple organizations have teamed up to sponsor the second annual winter festival in downtown Lake Orion with hopes of making it as popular as the community’s beloved Dragon on the Lake summer event.?
First the Lake Orion Rotary Club presents the 2nd Annual Ice Golf Challenge atop the icy Lake Orion beginning at?11 a.m.’Feb. 6. Any club will do for the nine-hole challenge but remember’the foam golf balls are a challenge in themselves.
‘Then it’s the Lake Orion Lions Club Outhouse Races down Broadway in outhouses on wheels. They will be ready to start at?2 p.m.
For the Lion’s club it’s not for the money. It’s not for the fame. It’s for good old-fashion fun.?
‘I remember standing at the end and here’s somebody my age, 60 years old, trying to push this outhouse down to the finish line. All of a sudden they’re getting tired, they’re getting worn out, and it was just so funny to watch,? last year’s announcer and Lion Bob Ericsson said. ‘It’s not for the money, it’s to get people downtown and to participate. And in the long run does the Winter Festival in Lake Orion become like our Jubilee, a week-long event, or like Dragon on the Lake? It could become a pretty big deal.?
Five outhouses will be donated by Turner Sanitation, and teams are highly encouraged to dress their house in costume. Last year’s Captain America team comes to mind.?
Erickson’s point: there is much fun to be had in cold temperatures.?
What profit the event garnered last year went back to local charities, as it will again this year.?
Call Erickson to register at 248-297-1158 or email boberickson99@gmail.com.?
For the Lake Orion Rotary Club which made more than $10,000 last year in sponsorships and donations, the Ice Golf Challenge is its biggest fundraiser.?
It took the Rotarians over two hours last year to plow out the nine-hole scramble, involving snow dunes and a par 3 from atop of a nearby building.?
That building was local business owner’s Steve Auger’s, the chair for the event.?
Auger said the Rotary is trying a few different things this year to keep the crowds on their toes. A total of 72 players competed last year, and the event is expected to be sold out.?
‘Everyone had a lot of fun last year. We are going to have a longest drive contest this year, and give each team of four a sled full of goodies to keep them warm. There will also be a warming tent on the ice too, just little things to try and grow this event,? he said.?
Patrons are encouraged to bring any means necessary to keep the fun going.?
The challenge starts at?11 a.m.’and will end with a victory afterglow celebration at 51 North brewery in downtown Lake Orion.?
Costumes and fun are encouraged for both events.?
Ice Golf Challenge reservations are $80 per person, or $300 per foursome and include tickets to the afterglow party. Individual afterglow party tickets are $35.?
Contact Auger at’s.auger@saa-architects.com’to sign up.?