OKOBOJI, Iowa | In 36 years of the University of Okoboji Winter Games, officials have seen it all.
Except this: Never in back-to-back years, have the Winter Games moved off Smith's Bay because of thin ice.
Officials are preparing for that possibility as the 2016 Winter Games approach. A number of activities in the 2015 Winter Games moved due to a lack of thick ice. The same may happen again.
"It's a bummer, initially," said Greta Gruys, co-chair of the University of Okoboji Winter Games. "I'm on the optimistic side, thinking maybe this can still happen. I remember thinking back in July and hoping for snow. Now, I'm hoping for ice."
A prolonged cold spell in Dickinson County could, repeat COULD, get West Lake Okoboji and Smith's Bay the ice thickness required to support thousands of people playing atop that surface come Jan. 28-31, as the 36th edition unfolds. As of mid-December, though, waters remained wide open, paving the way for a planned Christmas Eve voyage of the Queen II, something that hadn't happened since 2001.
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Fortunately, officials with the Winter Games have experience with both cold and warm weather.
"The Games go on; we get creative and find locations," Gruys said, noting that the safety of participants and spectators represents the top priority. "Jen Johnson-Ross (program director at the Iowa Great Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce) and her staff are great at finding opportunities for places to have our activities."
A number of those activities take place indoors, anyway, as the four-day frolic (that's also a first -- four days of fun, which begin with a half-dozen activities the night of Jan. 28) features a host of events like chess, the REMAX Lakes Realty Chili cook-Off, the Chocolate Classic & Galleria and more.
"Several thousand attend the chili cook-off alone," Johnson-Ross said. "And in the Chocolate Classic, we had 7,000 pieces of chocolate and dessert that were sold in an hour."
Staples like broomball, snowball-softball and the Polar Plunge will move if Mother Nature necessitates it. Doing so doesn't diminish the enjoyment, much of which takes place in the shadow of The Legend, Arnold Park Amusement Park's storied wooden roller coaster.
"We'll pull a lot of those events into Arnolds Park," Johnson-Ross said. "And there were be people there working on food events all day, and the craft brew. And that night, Judd Hoos is to perform in the Roof Garden, which is now heated and has air conditioning."
Yes, regardless of what Mother Nature throws at the crew, the Winter Games go on.
"My earliest and most vivid memories of the Winter Games involve the lighting of the greens and the fireworks extravaganza," said Gruys, a Spirit Lake native who headed off to college and returned to her hometown as a young parent herself a few years ago.
Gruys said it took all of a few seconds to agree to serve as co-chair this year, in support of Nick Stauss, who serves as chair. Gruys will head up the event in 2017, putting her in the pilot's chair as thousands of people converge on the Dickinson County in late January to fight off their cabin fever.
"There is such a spirit to the Iowa Great Lakes community," she said, explaining a constant she's seen spanning decades in and around Dickinson County. "There's such a willingness for people to step up and volunteer. People are really proud to call this area their home. The people and businesses here lend themselves to make this a great place."
And, this University of Okoboji Winter Games, a great event.
