Tourism Lethbridge is making the most of a wild winter, Jan. 14-19 with  the YQL WinterFest 2022.

 

“It’s a family friendly event. And even though the forecast looks like it will be warming up, bundle up,  get ready to enjoy some live music and make the most of winter,” advised Tourism Lethbridge marketing director Stephen Braund.

 

“People say the third week of January is the most depressing. So we want to get people to come outside instead of staying inside with people being depressed. And with omicron, we wanted to keep all of our events outside,” he continued, noting none of the events are weather dependent.

“We were more worried about extreme cold,” he said.

 

“We’re really excited about the music especially.”

Karen Romanchuk plays Jan.14 at 5 p.m.

 

 Adequate plays an afternoon show on the square, Jan. 15 at 2 p.m. Steve Keenan is unable to play on Jan. 15 but there will be another act to be announced.

“I was really impressed with the Upside Downtown concert series at Rotary Square during the summer,” he said.

“ I’m really looking forward to Adequate. They will really get you moving,” he said.

 There will be a variety of activities happening throughout the week. Local businesses have painted their windows  in a winter theme, they will also be having a scavenger hunt on Saturday with prizes with stops at local businesses.

“ It will require  you to really open your brains. You’ll get a clue  at the first stop and get another at the next when you solve it. At the end, you will be entered into a draw for tickets to the Tim Hortons Briar which is here in March,” he said.

 

“Saturday will be the big day. Adequate will be playing. There will be the scavenger hunt and businesses will be offering free samples of their custom made hot chocolate as they are participating in a hot chocolate competition.

 

“ We want to get people excited about experiencing Lethbridge and let them know that Lethbridge is great in the winter,” he continued.

 There will be two ice sculptures outside Casa.

 

We hope people will take selfies next to them and share them on social media,” he said, adding all events are free xxcept for the specialized hot chocolate , which will be on sale at the different restaurants throughout the week.

 

 He also recommended checking out the Winter Festival of lights at the Nikka Yuko Japanese Gardens, which is one of the seven locations with custom hot chocolate.

 

 “We really hope  this event will be a big success so we can  do it again next year,” Braund said. 

 

 More information about the events and the hot chocolate recipes is available at https://tourismlethbridge.com/yql-winterfest.

— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor