If the McCall Winter Carnival is an annual tradition for your family, you probably already have the 2023 dates on your calendar. Planning ahead for 2024? You will need to adjust those dates.
On October 11, the McCall Area Chamber shared important updates about the event through their Facebook page. The 2023 “Fairytales, Folktales and Tall Tales” themed event, the Winter Carnival is scheduled to run from January 27th to February 5th. Carnival-goers will see the return of Mardi Gras for the first time since 2020. It was suspended in 2022 due to concerns about COVID and a lack of manpower to keep the parade safe.
Gary Ertter through the McCall Area Chamber of Commerce
The return of the parade is the only significant update for 2023, but the 2024 event will see some big changes. The social media update revealed that the winter carnival will be reduced to a three-day event and moved to the last weekend of February. It’s a decision they reached after looking at housing trends and talking with McCall’s business owners.
While Winter Carnivals typically play a large role in McCall’s economy, feedback revealed that more than 82% of businesses said canceling the event in 2021 would not negatively impact their business. In fact, 80% said their business was actually growing that year.
Michelle Heart, Townsquare Media
In the full press release from the chamber, some area business owners found that the carnival, which brings a surge of 60,000 tourists to the small Idaho town over the 10-day period, actually made things more difficult to manage. due to lack of staff. Some chose to close during the event, rather than offer carnival-goers a sub-par experience.
Decision makers feel moving the carnival toward the end of the winter recreation season and reducing it to three days will be more convenient for business owners who call McCall home year-round.
Samantha Sais in front of the McCall Area Chamber of Commerce
The chamber announced that the three-day event is scheduled for February 23-25, 2024 and February 21-23, 2025. It will still include the Children’s Parade of Lights, Mardi Gras Parade, snow sculpture contest, live music and fireworks display. over Payette Lake.
As big, big fans of the Winter Carnival, we’re grateful to see the chamber take care of their small businesses instead of bowing to the will of the tourists. We knew the event would crash in 2022 and adjusted our expectations accordingly.
The same cannot be said for the people we saw getting loud with the staff at several local restaurants, brewpubs and ice rinks. The people who worked for those businesses were doing their best with a smile on their faces, but you could tell they were physically and emotionally exhausted. This decision means a lot to them!
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