Carnival of Gamers X – Winter Carnival

Welcome to the Carnival of Gamers X – Winter Carnival! This year we have lots of activites to take our minds off the brutally cold weather. Luckily the lakes froze over early so we could get a good start on building the Ice Palace.

This years schedule of events:

Curling Exhibition

Over at the Fairground Ice Rink, we have a Curling Exhibition by Russ Mitchell from “Boxing Alcibiades”. He is famous for a special move he calls “Rome: Total War – Barbarian Invasion is a great game”. It’s a long name, which is possibly why most other players just call it RoToWar BarInIaGaGa.

Torchlight Skiing

Up on the top of Cool Mountain you can partake in a special night of Torchlight Skiing. This event is sponsored by Finster from “Top Of Cool”. Finster has prepared a new themed ski run for us called “Star Wars: Galaxies goes down the crapper”. There will be lots of blinking lights and drama to keep us all entertained.

Ice Sculptures

All weekend there will be competitors making Ice Sculptures in Console Park. Make sure you stop by and check out the entry from last year’s winner, the famed artist Jeffool. His entry this year is titled “But I don’t want to be a murderer!” The other competitors will be trying hard to stay out from the Shadow of the Colossus.

Wintersday Parade

Be sure to attend the nightly Wintersday Parades. There will be a competition amongst the various float guilds, which we like to call “Wintersday in Guild Wars”. The defending team is captained by Brinstar so we all look forward to their guild float this year.

Clown Face Painting

All during the winter carnival, we invite you to have your face painted up just like a clown. This year’s most popular clown face is expected to be the “Smedley” clown face. Our most creative clown face painter, Heartless, will be putting on a demonstration each day at noon. He calls the demonstration “MO5 – The SOE effect… part II… MMORPG madness”. Be sure to check it out.

Woodsmen’s Exhibition

State Lumberjack Champion Hogit will be putting on an exhibition of an amazing chainsaw wood carving technique. The carving that will be prepared before your very eyes is entitled “Interview With An Elf”. We all look forward to this amazing champion’s skills.

Ice Fishing Tournament

Our annual ice fishing tournament will be held again this weekend. Named after little Bobby Slate who often complained about the cold, we invite you to participate in this year’s event. “Slate Misses the Point” will have several prizes awarded, with the grandprize being an all expense paid feast prepared by local fine eatery, Mike Sklens’ Pixel du Jour.

Game Awards

Every year we have so many creative and interesting games held during the winter carnival. They often go unrecognized. For the first time ever, there will be an award ceremony sponsored by Citizen Gamer. Make sure you stop by the booth called “CG’s First Annual Game Awards Show 2005” and see some of this year’s winners.

Winter Carnival Royalty Coronation

Tony, the esteemed founder of our Carnival, will be crowning the winter royalty for this year’s event. During the weekend’s festivities, you will be able to vote on your favorites at various voting booths placed throughout the carnival grounds. Tony will be presenting the regal crowns at the coronation ceremony, “Best of 2005”.

Pancake Breakfast

Corvus will be hosting the annual Pancake Breakfast and informal event discussion. Well-known for the famous flap-jacks and country bacon, the Pancake Breakfast is always popular. The topic for this year’s discussion will be “Games As ‘Open’ Texts”. Be prepared for a pop quiz after the meal. Just kidding!

Float Guild Pitstop Championship

Every year, the Wintersday Parade is a focal point of the carnival. This year we have added a special post-parade event to recognize some of the behind-the-scenes people. Our chief of timing and scoring, Foton, will be timing each float guild as they compete in a pitstop competition. This is to simulate a breakdown in mid-parade to see who can facilitate repairs in the fastest way possible. “So, You Want to be Guilded” looks to be an annual slugfest among the mechanics.

Ice Racing Clinic

Stick around after the ice fishing tournament ends as Johnny Pi will be putting on an ice racing clinic on the lake. If you have not yet seen automobiles racing around on the frozen lakes, this will be your best chance. Make sure to stop by after the clinic for Johnny’s question and answer session, “What I Do”.

Snowshoe Race

Last year’s snowshoe race winner, Josh, will be returning this year to defend his title. He has a specially prepared set of shoes, called “TUAW on Mac Mini Console”. If that gives you any hints on how to beat him, good luck! The race begins at the Ice Palace bright and early each morning, be there.

Sleigh Rides

We have a special treat this year as Joseph Valencia has returned with his amazing winter snow sleigh to give free rides to anyone interested. Feel free to stop by any time during the carnival and check out his home-built custom sleigh, “The DS: A little over a year later”. It’s an amazing sight to behold.

Lighting of the Ice Palace

Our final event of the carnival will be the lighting of the Ice Palace. Gather around after sunset as we hope that last year’s “Panic at the Console” does not happen again when we try to turn on the lights. We have a trained professional Ice Palace lighting architect, who goes by the mysterious name of Prognosticator, on hand to make sure it all goes smoothly.

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We hope you all have a great time at the Carnival of Gamers X: Winter Carnival. The carnival will be moving on after this month’s event is over. Make sure you visit “Carnival of Gamers XI” at Slashdot Games on February 2nd, 2006.

The CoG is joining the The TTLB ÃœberCarnival, so you may follow it there as well.

If you want to submit an entry to or host a future carnival, or just want more information about the CoG be sure to visit the Carnival of Gamers HQ, hosted by buttonmashing.com.

I took some liberties with this month’s carnival, hope nobody was offended (or confused) by it.

– Ethic