It’s winter time as the recent record breaking snowfall announced to the Houston area, and Pearland is taking time to celebrate with their 14th Annual Winterfest. Lakes of Savannah and Pearland residents can get ready for a fun filled day on January 9, 2010 as Independence park becomes a winter wonderland with snow tubing, skating, carnival rides and games, live entertainment and delicious food. This year, Winterfest is proud to be a ‘Green Event’ with the Recycle Snowman Contest along with eco-friendly entertainers and vendors.

This truly is fun for the whole family with a Toddler zone for the little ones, an exotic petting zoo, face painting, pony rides and educational entertainment for all kids to enjoy with a debut by Wendy Whitten ‘The Singing Scientist’ and her sidekick Flumpa the Frog. Wendy and Flumpa bring science to life with music, fitness and fun; they perform at schools, public events and through educational books, cd’s and tapes. Adults and kids of all ages will enjoy skating, snow tubing on 200,000 pounds of snow, carnival rides and midway games, a circus thrill show, a rock climbing wall and much much more.

Children age 2 and under are free, with people over 17 years being only $4, and kids between the ages of 3 to 16 are $10. You are welcome to bring a canned good for a discount of $2 off per admission (limit one discount per ticket). The canned items will be donated to the Pearland Neighborhood Center. In 2009 over 6,400 lbs of food were donated – almost twice as much as in 2008. Your donation will help make this year even better and help the center restock their shelves for people in need this year.

All rides and entertainment are free with admission but be sure to bring money to purchase some of the wonderful items that craft vendors will be selling or to buy some of the delicious food ranging from BBQ, burgers and turkey legs to funnel cakes, chocolate covered cheesecake and kettle corn.

Here are the details so you can mark your calendar:

Date: Saturday, January 9, 2010 Rain Date: Sunday, January 10, 2010 Location: Independence Park, 3919 Liberty Drive Time: 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (opens at 9am for special needs individuals to enjoy activities and rides without crowds) Parking: Free Parking at Pearland High School, 3775 South Main with Free Shuttle service to and from Winterfest. Call for handicapped parking information

But that’s not all – this year Winterfest is hosting The Recycle Snowman Contest which is offered to families, school classes, or clubs and challenges each group to construct a snowman out of recyclable products. This is a fun, hands on way to educate local children about the benefits of recycling. To enter this contest there is a $5 entry fee per snowman due by January 5, 2010 and groups must pre-register for this event. Awards will be given for the Best use of Recyclables, Best Winter Theme and for the Best Overall.

For more information on Winterfest please call 281-652-1673. Winterfest would not be possible without the help of hundreds of volunteers who dedicate their time and skills to making this day one to remember. If you’re interested in volunteering for Winterfest please contact Pearland Parks and Recreation at 281-652-1673.

If you would like to be a vendor at Winterfest, applications are accepted on a first-come first-served basis. For more information on being a vendor or a sponsor of Winterfest, please contact Angie Sanders at 281-652-1775.