Syracuse’s winter may seem harsh and drawn out, not necessarily something to celebrate. But for many locals, enduring the winter is something almost second nature, so it is not surprising that there is a festival to celebrate it.

Winterfest will take place starting Thursday until Feb. 21 and offers a variety of activities, competitions and entertainment throughout the city.

But this year, two of the festival’s key events have been canceled for reasons other than cold and snow. For the first time, the chili cook-off and chowder cook-off won’t be happening due a lack of interest, Winterfest director Bill Cooper said. Health regulations for entry were increased drastically this year, placing a burden on potential participants.

Patty Sheridan, the 2015 chili cook-off winner, has brewed up chili for the competition for over 20 years. She planned to enter again this year and was disappointed to hear the longstanding tradition was canceled.

“Everybody always comes in and says, ‘Can we taste the award-winning chili?’” she said. “It brings in business downtown and it helps out a lot. … It truly will be missed.”

Despite the loss of these events, Cooper said this year’s Winterfest is bringing in new ones such as “Take Your Shot: Picture This.” In this family-friendly event, contestants compete to gain points by finding locations in the area based solely on photographs.

Cooper also said this event, along with the musical acts and some classic food-related competitions such as the culinary cruise, wing walk and sandwich stroll, would appeal to Syracuse University students.

For each of these events, participants can sample food from multiple restaurants and vote for their favorite.

One establishment taking part in the sandwich stroll is Modern Malt, a restaurant in Armory Square that manager Katie Beckett said, “takes pride in pushing the limits on typical cuisine.”

For the stroll, Modern Malt will be facing off against eight other contestants. They’ll try to take down the competition by serving their short rib sloppy Joseph, a variation of a sloppy Joe made with short rib cooked in-house.

The sandwich stroll is not the only Winterfest competition with Modern Malt in the lineup. The restaurant will also take part in the mix-offs, which are five different events in which bars compete to make the best cocktails.

While Beckett couldn’t say for sure what Modern Malt will be best at, she said they do make “a pretty good Bloody Mary.”

There are other events catering to the 21-and-above crowd in addition to the mix-offs. These include not only a bar crawl but a corn-hole tournament with an open bar and a chance to win cash prizes.

Shayne Coyne, who runs the cornhole tournament, said people like the event because it is different.

“Why not set myself a little bit apart with it and have something cool that people normally associate with summertime?” he said.

This year’s tournament falls on Valentine’s Day, which Coyne said could be positive or negative, as some couples have other plans.

“But others are like, ‘Oh, cool, this is something me and my wife can do,’” he said. “One team already signed up to spend Valentine’s Day playing bags and having drinks.”

Beckett, who has seen seven Winterfests, said the celebration really draws different people to the area.

“You do see an influx of new faces during Winterfest, and that’s always great for Armory (Square),” she said. “It gives them an opportunity to come down here and to check out what some of the restaurants have to offer.”

Coyne, who grew up seeing Winterfest ads on television, said the celebration also helps cheer people up in a time of year when they are “generally miserable.”

“It’s an opportunity to just get out of the house,” he said. “Break out of that cabin fever funk, partake in your community and just have a good time.”

mcbuck01@syr.edu

Published on February 10, 2016 at 10:05 pm

Contact: mcbuck01@syr.edu