RUMFORD — Black Mountain Ski Resort will host its fifth annual WinterFest Weekend from March 1 to 3.

Marketing Director Paige Carter said WinterFest Weekend is usually held during the last weekend Black Mountain is open, but it was moved to the first to accommodate the weather.

“In recent years, the mountain had to close a little earlier due to less snowfall, and we’d end up having to reschedule WinterFest earlier in the month,” Carter explained. “This year, we figured if we do it at the beginning of March, everyone will be able to enjoy WinterFest Weekend, even if we, for some reason, had to close early.”

The event kicks off March 1 with Becky Shaw Memorial Day, which recognizes the life of the Bethel resident killed in a car accident in 2003. Shaw was the wife of Dr. Lennie Shaw of Mountain View EyeCare in Rumford and Bethel, and was devoted to the education and training of paraoptometrics, health personnel who assist optometrists in providing a high level of eye care to patients.

Jewel Clark and Donnie Katlin, who were also friends of Shaw, will provide music from 3 to 6 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.

Carter said that on Saturday, March 2, there will be free skiing from 4 to 7 p.m., followed by the Torch Light Parade.

“For the parade, the skiers will start at the top, holding torches,” she said. “We shut off all the lights on the mountain, and the skiers begin skiing down in a serpentine motion. They take wide turns as they go down, and the people at the bottom get to watch. You can’t see the people, but you can see the lights from the torches. It’s really beautiful.”

Carter said there will be fireworks following the Torch Light Parade.

On Sunday, March 3, Black Mountain will host a Never Ever Race, which Carter described as “something fun for the kids to do this weekend.”

“The Never Ever Race is for kids 10 and under,” she said. “It’s a little race in the Novice area that they can participate in. At the end, everyone gets a little prize. We figured it’d be something nice for the kids and their families to do.”

There will also be an ice fishing demo during WinterFest Weekend, Carter said. One of Black Mountain’s ski patrolmen will show people how to use traps to catch fish.

mdaigle@sunjournal.com