They make great Christmas presents, Secret Santa gifts, stocking stuffers. Heck, stuff them in leg warmers, or wrap them in neon-coloured paper, and you're on point with its 2025 theme.
Tickets for events for the 65th annual Vernon Winter Carnival go on sale this Friday, Dec. 6, at 9 a.m. The 65th Carnival, presented by Valley First, runs Feb. 7-16.
"The goal for 2025 was to celebrate our 65th anniversary with a fun theme that was easy to work with for our event holders to bring a little celebratory flair 鈥� and what better way than to bring Vernon Winter Carnival Back to the '80s," said Carnival society chairperson Laurell Cornell.
鈥淲e are so excited for our theme this year and the response from the community and our third-party event holders tells us it鈥檚 going to be another amazing year.鈥�
The festival will host more than 100 events throughout the 10 days of Carnival 鈥� 28 of those events are hosted by Vernon Winter Carnival directly 鈥� and the remainder are third-party events, hosted by a variety of local businesses and organizations.
There are 22 new events this year, including a new VWC Raffle:
鈥� Let it Snow Raffle 鈥� VWC;
鈥� Back to the '80s Tremendous Trivia Retro Ride Day 鈥� SilverStar Mountain Resort;
鈥� Disco Laser Light Boogie 鈥� SilverStar Mountain Resort;
鈥� Great Scott! Escaping the 80鈥檚 鈥� Okanagan Science Centre;
鈥� Drag Brunch 鈥� The Med;
鈥� Tour de Soup 鈥� Sovereign Lake Nordic Club;
鈥� Senior鈥檚 Nostalgia Bingo 鈥� Family Resource Centre;
鈥� Moonwalk Mania Family Dance 鈥� NOYFSS & Okanagan Restoration;
鈥� Come Try Ringette 鈥� Greater Vernon Ringette Association;
鈥� '80s Fun Children鈥檚 Games 鈥� Okanagan Regional Library;
鈥� Tribute to Movies of the '80s 鈥� Blues Brothers; Dance Lesson & Speakeasy at Cheek to Cheek;
鈥� Try Speed Skating 鈥� Vernon Vortex;
鈥� A Winter鈥檚 Night Paintng Party 鈥� Caetani Centre;
鈥� Care Bears Crafts 鈥� Okanagan Regional Library;
鈥� Build a Synthesizer 鈥� Okanagan Regional Library;
鈥� Josh + Bex Concert 鈥� Mackie Lake House;
鈥� Tribute to Movies of the '80s 鈥� Dirty Dancing; Dance Lesson & Speakeasy at Cheek to Cheek;
鈥� Hip to be Square 鈥� Star Country Squares;
鈥� Step Back into the '80s Aquafit Style 鈥� Greater Vernon Recreation;
鈥� Storybooks of the '80s 鈥� Okanagan Regional Library;
鈥� Pop! Glow Show 鈥� Okanagan Science Centre.
There are multiple returning favourite events, including:
鈥� Predator Ridge Parka Party;
鈥� Sip & Savour 鈥� VWC;
鈥� Chocolate Classes for adults & kids 鈥� Cotton鈥檚 Chocolates;
鈥� 14th Winter Carnival Blues Fest;
鈥� Downtown Vernon Gold Rush 鈥� DVA;
鈥� Family Fun Park & Fireworks.
鈥淲e are thrilled to see the return of many beloved Carnival traditions, such as the snow sculptures at Silver Star, the 52nd Annual Coca-Cola Classic Peewee Hockey Tournament, and the 64th Annual Carnival Parade, just to name a few, "said Carnival executive director Lisa Fenyedi.
鈥淲e want to invite all community members to embrace winter and come Back to the '80s with us this February."
Tickets for 65th annual Vernon Winter Carnival events are available as of Friday, Dec, 6, at 9 a.m.:
鈥� Order online at https://vernonwintercarnival.com/events/;
鈥� By phone 鈥� 250-545-2236;
鈥� In person 鈥� 3401-35th Avenue.
