By Meg Peters
Review Staff Writer
Some may think a brewery and church would form an unlikely partnership, but not when an outhouse is involved.
In the last couple weeks 51 North Brewery and the Lake Orion United Methodist Church teamed up with several other local nonprofit organizations to create the eclectic 2015 Lake Orion Winter Carnival involving a little bit of everything.
With outhouse racing and an extreme ice-golf challenge’this winter carnival is bound to be a little different than past winter festivals that have graced downtown Lake Orion in winters past.
‘It is really capturing the imagination of everyone,? Don Gindhart said, owner of 51 North Brewery in downtown Lake Orion, who is bound and determined to make the Lake Orion Winter Carnival an annual event.
On Saturday, January 24 winter weather is needed. At 11 a.m. teams of golfers will venture out onto the frozen Lake Orion for the Ice Cup Golf Challenge’no skates involved? for the best ball scramble involving an auger, nine-inch deep holes and a creative assortment of clubs and balls. Interested teams of four should contact Steve Auger at’s.auger@saa-architects.com’to register.
After a spin on the ice, the community is invited back to Broadway and Shadbolt at 2 p.m. for a stinking good time. With two people tugging from the front, two people pushing from the back and a lucky squatter inside, the Winterfest Outhouse Races will officially begin.
Teams of five will boogey and scoot down Broadway, dragging the outhouse one way or another, to Flint Street, perform a task, and race back. Oh, don’t forget, halfway through the squatter is required to jump out of the outhouse and grab a roll of toilet paper just in case. To sign-up for this one-of-a-kind race go to’www.lakeorionlions.org’to register online and pay.
Four outhouses will be donated by Turner Sanitation of Lake Orion, and all teams must come dressed to impress with a unified, team name, and toilet seat. To see a video depiction of the different varieties of outhouse races google search ‘outhouse racing? and be impressed.
The kids won’t be left out either with ongoing activities from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the heated tent right next to the races. The Lake Orion United Methodist Church and Orion Art Center will host all the action in the’Lake Orion Review’and State Farm Insurance parking lot, involving snowman making, crafts, s’more-eating, putt-putt golf, hot chocolate and other goodies fit to keep you and the kids toasty and entertained.??
The Lake Orion Walgreens will also be onsite with a camera, and kids who make a picture frame will get to fill it with a complimentary photograph. The heated tent will also serve as a warm-up for all of those energetic outhouse racers.
Police Chief Jerry Narsh assures the community they don’t want to miss out on this climatic, outdoor adventure.
‘This is where we are supposed to be as a community, where we all get together and we have a really good time for our charities, our community and our folks. What better way to do it then by having all segments of society get their hearts pumping together out in the cold,? he said.
The 2015 Winter Carnival is nothing short of Lake Orion’s volunteer groups coming together to make the magic happen for fun-seekers, but also for the local nonprofit organizations that give back so much.
While 51 North Brewery, the LO Lion’s Club, the LO Rotary Club, LO United Methodist Church and the Orion Art Center all have their hands in the organization of the event, volunteer organizations including Blessings in a Backpack, Love INC, the Oxford/Orion FISH food pantry, among others, will all receive carnival donations.
Twenty percent of 51 North Brewery’s sales that Saturday will also be donated to the United Methodist Church’s mission trip to Guatemala, where about 30 Lake Orionites will help build a local school.
But what is this seemingly unholy alliance between Pastor John Ball and 51 North Brewery owner Gindhart concerning outhouses?
Through a weekly Monday night meeting the United Methodist Church has been hosting at the brewery, talking about everything from community happenings to social and political issues, relationships and forming connections, Pastor Ball said.
‘We bring people together in the midst of diverse ideas and ways of thinking to have a unified conversation.
It creates an opportunity for people to connect to one another,? Ball said. ‘We want to create a space for people to have a good time and come together, and that’s the heart of where our two organizations came together’his business and our church.?
And this family event is only one of the many activities both Gindhart and Ball hope to create for the community, by the community.
For more information on the outhouse races, contact the Lake Orion Lions Club at?248-762-1393. Any other questions can be directed to Gindhart at?248-690-7367.