Wednesday 12 March 2014

Mardi Gras Weekend


My friends and I
all dressed up at Ice Bar
This past weekend was Mardi Gras and Winter Carnival and it is one of my favourite traditions at Holiday Valley. Holiday Valley begins to prepare weeks in advance for the festival with the construction of the infamous ice bar, snow sculpture, and decorating.  The festival kicks of Saturday morning at 10 a.m. Holiday Valley is a family resort and offers all kinds of activities for all ages.  My friends and family like many people who attend go all out and dress up. 

 I love this weekend and this year was amazing. The weather was spectacular and perfect for skiing and a BBQ slope-side. As I arrived to Ellicottville late Friday I knew I better rest up because the weekend would be a busy. I woke on Saturday to less then desirable weather, but I wasn't going to let a little snow rain on my parade, and nor would Holiday Valley. We quickly gathered our ski clothes, packed out lunched, and grabbed our beads and were off to she ski hill.

 This is a huge weekend for the resort so I recommend to anyone that plans to join us next year, arrive early! Parking fills up quickly and the walk to the lodge can get very long. We arrived early, saved our favourite table on the deck of Yodeler Lodge and went out to make some runs.
My friend Jillian and I

 Skiing was fabulous and it's always nice to get out and make some runs with family and friends. By 12:30 we all decide that the hills are getting very busy and its time for a cold beer and a hot  dog. 
We head back to our table and check out the Ice Bar. 
Holiday Valley never ceases to amaze me. They put on an amazing weekend with music, face painting, games, dummy downhill, costume contest and parades down the hill. 

 I recommend to all of you, if you're thinking about coming to Ellicottville be sure to check out their weekend events and join us next year for Mardi Gras.


 See you on the slopes;
Joanna
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Location: Ellicottville, NY 14731, USA

7 comments:

  1. Unknown12 March 2014 at 18:32

    sounds like fun Joanna. I have never been, but will have to put this on my bucket list for the future.
    thanks for sharing such a fun event

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  2. Unknown12 March 2014 at 19:15

    This looks like it was so much fun! I had no idea that Holiday Valley constructs an ice bar and snow sculptures for Mardi Gras. I'm upset that I didn't make it out skiing this winter, and I'm even more upset that I missed this, because it looks like a great time.

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    Replies
    1. Unknown12 March 2014 at 19:23

      Its a blast! You will have to join me next year!

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  3. Kelly Snow14 March 2014 at 18:33

    Ah, I'm super sorry I missed this - something came up over the weekend but it looks like you had a fabulous time, Joanna!

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  4. Unknown18 March 2014 at 09:57

    I've always wanted to go to Holiday Valley, but the one time I tried skiing I was convinced I was going to die. It was right out of a movie:
    bunny hill. bent forward cuz i wanted to 'be like the movies'. couldn't 'pizza' to stop.
    So I had convinced myself that a) this was it or b) I was going to have to run into the fence.
    Turns out, you lose momentum after a while and kind of just slow down.

    Did I mention this was last year?
    Terrifying.

    Maybe you can teach me, or I can take up snowboarding.
    Awesome blog, Joanna!

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  5. Unknown18 March 2014 at 23:18

    I went skiing once in my life. It was a disaster. I went through a fence and cause a three person pile up in the middle of a hill. This was when I was roughly 12 years old. Your blog almost makes me want to put that in the past and give it another shot.

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