“TWINterfest is going to look a little different this year,” said Bill Stephenson, creator of the winter festival. “We have recently decided to cancel all ice activities as the depth of the ice is too inconsistent to be safe, and safety for our guests is our No. 1 priority.”

In cooperation with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and local law enforcement, access to the lake will be barricaded with “Danger, Thin Ice” signs in an effort to keep everyone safe and off the ice.

“With that being said, the TWINterfest committee has adapted to the recent changes and quickly came up with ways to still be able to provide a great day of activities on the lake,” said Stephenson.

The morning will start off with a pancake breakfast, which will be served from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Since the ice is unable to be used for TWINterfest, the staff at the Twin Lakes Bible Camp, 7718 Twin Lakes Road, will be opening the indoor facilities from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for family games, rock climbing, and even have a giant inflatable slide for the kids.

“Their outdoor miniature golf course will be cleared and ready to use as well,” Stephenson said.

The Lady Poker Run begins registration at 9 a.m. at the Twin Lakes Bible Camp. Registration is $10/person. The poker run will start at 11 a.m. and will still feature six stops. Awards will be given out at 2:30 p.m. at Traditions. This event has been moved to the road due to the poor ice conditions.

The biggest event at TWINterfest is the Kite Festival presented by Great American Kites. There will be huge, custom made kites painting the sky in different colors. They will also have small kites for sale for kids and adults to purchase and fly, and there is going to be a candy drop for the kids.

This year, the Polar Plunge will be moved to the Southend.

“We are going to have a dunk tank from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.,” Stephenson said. ” We will auction off turns to dunk people and all the money raised goes to fire and rescue out at the lake.”

Guests can pre-register online to save money, get a free hat, and save your place for the dunk tank.

New to TWINterfest this year is the Traditions Tailgate & DJ Party. Guests will be able to eat, listen to music, and participate in activities. They will have a large fire pit, beersbee, giant beer pong, bean bag toss and music trivia.. Participants will also have a chance to win prizes for certain activities.

The fireworks will begin shooting off at 6:30 pm at Southern Bay of North Twin Lake.

Patriotic music will be played at Traditions during the fireworks show.

There will also be a fundraiser for the Fourth of July fireworks at the lake, the Auto Plunge. During TWINterfest, guests will have the chance to purchase a ticket for $10 that has a unique time and hour on it. The winner gets $750.

The winning time is determined by a clock inside the vehicle that will stop once it falls through the ice. If a ticket with the exact time is not purchased, the winner will be determined by the closest time prior to the clock stopping.

Tickets can be purchased through March 15 and are available online at twinterfest.org.

Along with all the activities, there will be plenty of food available for purchase all day. Besides the pancake breakfast there will also be the Ultimate Hot Dog Bar, Lucky Wife Wine Slushies,smores, hot apple cider, mini donuts, freshly grilled cheeseburgers, Traditions Pizza, and chili & cinnamon Rolls.

“People are always starving for something to do at this time of year,” said Stephenson. “So what better way to celebrate it with fun winter activities. It is supposed to be a beautiful 50 degree day so bring the family out and have some fun.”

There will be a courtesy shuttle to help move guests around the lake to participate and watch all the numerous activities. The shuttle service will run from noon to 6 p.m.. Visit the website during TWINterfest to track where the shuttle is at.

More information is available at https://twinterfest.org.