Smiles abounded on the faces of children, parents and onlookers as they were being introduced to the experience of cross-country skiing -- joined by Madison Winter Festival mascot, Gentle Ben. On the plaza outside the Madison Children's Museum, ice sculptures including a frigid version of Bucky Badger put yet more smiles on the faces of kids and other onlookers.
Competition was mixed into all the fanciful fun, with a steady schedule of cross-country ski races for elite racers, high-school athletes, citizen racers, seniors and kids -- including a race for Fit City Kids participants.
Amidst all the activity -- and the gentle snow that was falling for much of Saturday -- Madison Winter Festival President Yuriy Gusev may have been wearing the biggest smile of all.
Participants in the Fit City Kids race flocked to the podium as Gentle Ben high-pawed a Madison Winter Festival volunteer.
Across from the podium at the intersection of Main Street and Wisconsin Avenue, the festival's vendor expo included impressive displays of the latest Nordic skiing gear. The colorful advertising mural on the side of the nearby Salomon Skis bus was also an eye-catcher. And a little further east along Mifflin Street, the Pisten Bully tractor used to groom the cross-country ski course around the Capitol made quite an impression on two young boys who climbed up on its treads and onto the machine's flatbed.
Out on Lake Monona off Monona Terrace, light winds were not enough to ground the enthusiasm at the last-minute Kites on Ice reunion organized by kite aerial photographer Craig Wilson: After a three-year absence, some 20 kiters celebrated the 10th anniversary of their first gathering with a variety of colorful displays against monochromatic overcast skies.
Back up on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, with the Capitol as their backdrop, snowboarders put their skills on display as they negotiated the rails and other challenging features provided by the Tyrol Basin Rail Jam Hill.
And back out on the cross-country ski course, Nordic ski racers warmed up between heats. A second-floor table at Brocach Irish Pub afforded a splendid view, with the U.S. flag fluttering in the foreground.
