Photos: Residents Enjoy Ice Skating, Crafts and More at Berkley's Winterfest

Snow came just in time for on Saturday, where residents packed the to celebrate the winter season and spend some time with neighbors.

Berkley Director Tom Colwell said the small amount of snow was a nice bonus.

“We certainly had our plans set for no snow, and it's not a lot of snow out there but the little bit of dusting is great,” Colwell said as he held his 8-month-old daughter. “The idea of this whole event is to get families outside playing together.”

Winterfest – which featured games, ice skating, a chili cook-off, petting farm, "turkey bowling" and more – was put on by the and a slew of volunteers.

Colwell said Winterfest lets the city as a whole – including the school district, public safety departments, local vendors and more who all were involved in the event – show off what they have to offer.

“We are bringing our community together,” he said.

Children enjoy ice skating, crafts

Emily Halloran, 7, was dressed for the outdoor festivities in her snow pants but was more than happy to work on her arts and crafts skills in the event's busy children's room. Her favorite part of Winterfest?

“The crafts,” she said matter-of-factly. “It's like my special talent.”

Rachelle Vanover, of Berkley, enjoyed ice skating with her 4-year-old son Drew.

“We always come to all the Berkley stuff,” she said. “It's something that is family oriented. My son always has a lot of fun.”

Recreation department senior coordinator Sue Thornton called the weather “perfect” as a light snowfall came down outside the recreation center during the event.

“I think the snowman in the great sky decided to be good to us. It's all about the cold and snow and getting people out to play,” she said. “This time of year people can get depressed and this is a great event just to lift spirits.”

Deputy Chief Robert North said Winterfest is a good opportunity to learn about local businesses and also see recycling, fire and safety demonstrations.

“It's a nice event in the middle of winter,” he said. “There's something for everybody to do.”

Event was "a wonderful success," coordinator says

Berkley resident Patricia Heliker watched as her granddaughters Aubrie Buell, 3, and Bryson Buell, 4, participated in winter crafts.

“It's something fun to do on a cold winter day,” Heliker said.

Eddie Minor, 2, got to exercise creative freedom as he used glue and glitter on his snowman project.

“We like to participate in all the Berkley activities,” said his dad Matt Minor, of Berkley.

Thornton said Saturday afternoon that the event was “a wonderful success.”

“We're really happy right now,” she said.

Hogger's BBQ took first place in the chili cook-off and second place went to . Although the snow didn't accumulate enough for a snowman-building contest, one child took the initiative to put together a tiny snowman and automatically won first prize in the contest, Thornton said. The adult winner for turkey bowling was Devon Shepherd, and the children's winner was Maekenzi Ashburn.

“Turkey bowling was huge, it was so much fun,” Thornton said. “Kids and adults alike had a wonderful time.”

Did you attend Winterfest? Add your photos to our gallery or send to leslie.ellis@patch.com.