La Crosse’s Winter Rec-Fest is cancelled for 2020

Winter Rec-Fest in La Crosse is taking a break. 

The city park department says the traditional January festival of indoor and outdoor activities will not be held in 2020. 

Special events coordinator Abby Heilman says staffers want to take time to consider what should be part of Rec-Fest in the future, “to kind of revamp and kind of explore some change that could possibly be applied to it.”

Heilman says dealing with unpredictable weather in late January was the biggest factor in deciding to put Rec-Fest on hold for a year. 

She tells us they will still put on a figure skating exhibition at Green Island, and curling lessons, along with some family sledding nights this winter.   

There won’t be a euchre and sheepshead tournament, though.

Last winter, there was a lack of snow in La Crosse just days before the outdoor events were to take place.

Heilman says the length of Rec-Fest in the future probably will remain the same as before, spread out over a two-week period.

Winter Rec-Fest was held for the 33rd time in January 2019.