MCCALL, Idaho — The McCall Winter Carnival has been celebrating all things winter since the 1960s. Whether it's held through two weekends or just one, it takes a village to make it all happen.
"I think there is this thing where you feel like it's kind of Christmas morning — like it just happens. But it doesn't," said McKenzie Kraemer, Marketing Director for the McCall Chamber of Commerce.
"It takes a lot of volunteers and a lot of people," Kraemer added.
This is the second year the McCall Winter Carnival has condensed down to one weekend, instead of 10 days.
Thanks to snowy conditions this year, Kraemer says the Chamber of Commerce will get a better feel for how the business community and residents feel about the condensed version of the carnival.
RELATED: McCall Winter Carnival Ice Sculpture Competition is underway
"We have all the feedback from last year. Following this carnival, we'll ask for a second round of feedback via surveys, public forums, and all that good stuff. We're going to gather all that data, and then by the end of March we will make a decision as to what Carnival in 2026 will look like," said Kraemer.
Regardless of the format, the co-owner of Broken Horn Brewery just wants to be part of this celebration. As a matter of fact, they oversee the popular beer garden located behind Hotel McCall this year.
Jenna Dodge says it was easy to get her staff on board.
"The next step was we reached out to our staff to see who would be available to help extra, and they were all really supportive. And then, kind of the next step, was some qualified friends in the local community and even in the Boise Valley offered to help and so it's all kind of come together," said Dodge.
The community effort helps keep the tradition alive.
"What's really exciting for us is we're seeing sort of a resurgence back from a younger generation who maybe grew up here or has been having a lot of, you know, really great memories from coming to the McCall Winter Carnival, and they are getting back involved," said Kraemer.
Idaho News 6 will have our team of neighborhood reporters in McCall later this week. We hope to see you there!
RELATED: Event Guide: Discover the magic of the 2025 McCall Winter Carnival
If you can't make it, watch our live coverage on Saturday of the Mardi Gras parade, online at IdahoNews6.com and on digital channel 6.2.
