Family-friendly events celebrate Fire and Ice fest

LAVA HOT SPRINGS, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - The first full weekend of every February only means one thing in Lava Hot Springs: Fire & Ice Winterfest. All weekend, dozens of family-friendly events invite people into town to celebrate winter. 

At the Lava aquatic center, families gathered for the children’s water carnival. 

"We’ve got lots of activities for little kids along with the older kids," Aquatics Manager Karen Bartlett said. "We keep the little kids in the kiddie cove, fun and games in the water."

Bartlett said this year the event has more to offer younger kids than ever before. As a result, there are more participants. 

A total of six events including diving contests, ring and duck tosses, give kids of all ages a chance to win some cool prizes.

Just outside the aquatic center, the annual Ice Ball Fling Championships were shooting off. 

"Seems like if you pull it about a 45-degree angle coming downward, it seems like it goes pretty good," Cameron Salt, a volunteer, explained of winning technique. "The heavier you are, the more weight you’ve got to pull back and it’s kinda cool."

The ice ball fling championship tests participants’ ability to pull back the makeshift slingshot and see how far they can send the ice balls. On Saturday, some were able to send the balls flying nearly 70 feet out, while others struggled to even get the ball out of the barrel.

"I think this summer I’ll work on something that can hold everything a little better so they can shoot it farther, whether it’s weight or not," Salt said.  

Winterfest continues in Lava on Sunday. A list of all the remaining events can be found here.