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CBS preparing for eventful Winterfest

Spirit of Newfoundland Dinner Show already nearly sold out

By Chris Lewis | Vol. 32 No. 48 (Feb. 13, 2020)

February marks winter festival season for many communities in the province, and CBS is no exception.

Starting on Friday, February 14, Conception Bay South’s annual Winterfest gets underway with a plethora of activities for people in and around the community.

Junior Bursey is a councillor with the town, and says that Winterfest is all about community spirit, as shown in the festival’s schedule which features some 40 events.

“We try to make Winterfest as affordable, inclusive, and accessible as possible, with a bunch of free events for the public like bowling night, swimming and skating nights, and family days,” Bursey said.

He noted that a number of events would not be possible without the help of local organizations such as the CBS Lion’s Club, and the Kin Club, which is celebrating their 100th anniversary this year.

This year’s Winterfest will feature events that many long-time festival goers will be familiar with, such as the outdoor family fun day, the Snowball at the Legion, and the Spirit of Newfoundland Dinner Show; the latter of those three is special this year in that it is going to be centered around Conception Bay South as a community, for the first time ever.

However, exactly what that means is a mystery.

“They told us it’s a surprise, so we’re really looking forward to that one,” Bursey said.

He added that while Winterfest always tends to draw a solid crowd of people, there are some events that are especially popular. The event that seems to never fail to sell out is the Spirit of Newfoundland Dinner Show, and this year Bursey said tickets are already nearly sold out, with approximately a dozen left as of Tuesday morning.

It is not all old news, however. The 2020 Winterfest features two brand new events, including the Craft Beer Night on Friday, February 21 that features craft beer sampling from breweries located in the region.

“The second thing we decided to have this year is something for the youth. We’ve got a youth open mic night … we’re trying to encourage all our youth to come out, have some fun, and perform at the Manuels River,” Bursey said of the free event. “There’s a sign-up sheet on the town website for anyone who wants to take part, whether they want to go up on the stage to play an instrument, sing a song, or really do whatever. It’s about entertainment at the end of the day.”

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