Port Carling WINTERFEST 2025

Join us at Port Carling’s annual Winterfest! The Muskoka Lakes Museum will be back with our classic snow snakes – a traditional Haudenosaunee winter game. Come and try your luck to win a free family pass to the museum for summer 2025.

Visit the Port Carling Winterfest Facebook for more details.

Prizes are awarded as follows:  one prize each for longest throw for girls and boys in each of the following categories: Primary (Grades K to 3); Junior (grades 4 to 6); Intermediate (grades 7 & 8); and High School/Adults

Official Port Carling Winterfest SNOWSNAKE RULES

1. START: A player may be standing or may choose to run to the throwing line.

2. MOVEMENT: The player, utilizing an underhand delivery (below the hip) throws the spear along the surface of the snowfield. The object is to make the spear slide over the snow as far as possible. Players will be allowed a maximum of a 20-foot run prior to each throw attempt.

3. ATTEMPTS: Each player has three (3) attempts.

4. SCORING: The distance the spear travels from the throwing line to the tip of the spear, with the longest distance being the winner or at the point that the spear exits the trough.

5. COMPETITION FORMAT: The youngest – Primary grades — start. The High School Students/Adults throw last.

6. EQUIPMENT: The spear is a straight stick approximately 1 meter or more in length and 20 to 40 millimeters in diameter. It can be round at one or both ends. Wax can be used to help it slide.

The snowfield is generally level and packed; it may be on a lake and should be at least 100 feet or more in length. A trough with a snow bank on either side may also be used to launch the snake.