FARGO – All across the Fargo-Moorhead area, people woke up from hibernation, crawled out of their dens and pulled on their parkas to get active and enjoy being outside at the Frostival on an unusually warm Saturday for late January. The Frostival featured numerous contests and special events, which mostly included summertime activities with snow added to the title, such as snow-softball, snow-golf and snow-mural painting. At Mickelson Park in north Fargo, softball teams traded in their baseball mitts for wool mittens and their cleats for snow boots, while trudging around the bases at the snow-softball tournament. "We're having fun," said Randi Hartman, a member of the Goldmark Gold softball team. "It's just fun to get out here and do something during the winter, because most of us are just snowbirds and we stay inside." Snow-softball is played with an extra large, softer softball and mostly without baseball gloves. Rather than bases, runners run toward orange squares painted in the snow through an infield that has not been cleared. The snow was particularly deep near third base, causing several runners to tumble. Fielders used the snow to their advantage, however, fearlessly diving after fly balls, their greatest risk being a face full of snow. On the other side of the metro, at Elmwood Park in West Fargo, local golfers had a chance to get in some offseason swings while playing snow-golf. "I saw the frostival schedule and rounded up my normal golfing buddies and said, 'Let's give this a try,'" said Josh Smith of West Fargo. "This is definitely not summertime golf. It's a good time, though."
Twelve teams of four golfers per team hit the snow-covered links to play a nine-hole scramble tournament of snow-golf. They hit tennis balls instead of standard golf balls, with the goal of hitting a gallon pail sitting on top of the snow. "The ball doesn't go as far as a golf ball, "West Fargo Parks Recreation Manager Lance Belisle said. "There's been a lot of duffs already." While many find golfing in the summertime to be the ultimate challenge, snow-golf presents an entirely different set of obstacles. Rather than sandtraps and water features, snow-golfers need to worry about hitting balls buried in the snow and getting their clubs stuck. Other events and activities on Saturday included crafting activities at Frostville at The Depot in Fargo, a 3K fun run at the Red River Zoo in south Fargo, a polar plunge at the Ramada Plaza Suites in Fargo and yoga in the snow - or Snowga - at Fargo's Island Park. The Frostival continues today with the B-B-BRRR Winter Classic Bike Race at 1:30 at the Fargo Community Gardens at Lower Terrace.
