Memory-making Richmond Hill Winter Carnival returns for 55th year -- and everything's still free

Outdoor family event at Mill Pond Park on Feb. 3 and 4.

Yorkregion.com
Feb. 4, 2024
Mike Adler

Sunday morning pancakes in the tent. Bed races. The trackless train.“Brampton Batman.”

The Richmond Hill Winter Carnival has made memories, with old traditions or newer ones, for 55 years now.

The city’s largest mid-winter event, which returns to Mill Pond Park on Feb. 3 and 4, remains an event by and for the community.

It’s all volunteer-run and free, though buying souvenir buttons for $3 is certainly encouraged.

A video shot by Eric McKenna in 2023 intercuts memorabilia from past carnivals, with people recalling their earliest connections to the event. Organizers hope to play the footage for this year’s crowds.

Since neighbours dragged their barbecues to the park for an outdoor party in 1969, certain features of the carnival have stuck, but there are always new ones.

Two highlights are the pancake breakfast (9 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday) served by the Richmond Hill Progress Club and a recent addition, the spaghetti dinner (5 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday) with entertainment by duo LuminEssence Music.

Opening ceremonies start at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

Visitors on both days can meet Ookpik, the friendly carnival mascot, The Dark Knight (otherwise known as “Brampton Batman”), performer Circus Jonathan and, if they prefer a bobcat or skunk, Speaking of Wildlife’s Ontario wildlife ambassadors.

Experts on hand will demonstrate interactive outdoor activities from butter-churning to fire-making and dogsledding.

Free parking is available in Mackenzie Health’s east parking lot.

Trackless Train at Richmond Hill Winter Carnival
The Trackless Train is one of many popular features of the Richmond Hill Winter Carnival, a two-day free-admission event in the city's Mill Pond Park.

Marney Beck Robinson photo
Mild weather won’t dampen the carnival spirit, but in recent years, the volunteer Winter Carnival Committee has had to make allowances for bed races, pond hockey tournaments and other activities which were traditions on ice.

“Everything is planned for dry land, and if there happens to be ice on the pond for skating and pickup hockey, that's icing on our winter carnival cake,” Marney Beck Robinson, a committee member, said by email.

See more at www.wintercarnival.net