Albert Lea Parks and Recreation’s first winter carnival may not have attracted nearly a hundred people like the summer carnival, but some hope it could build into a yearly tradition.

Jenny Davis, recreation program supervisor, who developed the idea for the winter carnival with inspiration from other towns, said she contacted people from a city that holds a large weekend winter carnival for inspiration. The hope is to make this a yearly event, Davis said.

The winter carnival was from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Academy Park. The event attracted a smaller crowd than expected, but the children who came played games like snow volleyball, bowling and box hockey outside in temperatures of 16 degrees and wind gusts up to 31 mph. A cardboard sled race was planned, but it was canceled even though it snowed Friday night and Saturday morning.

Inside the warming house, children played beanbag toss, had their face painted and made marshmallow snowmen.

Destany Luna, 10, made candy snowmen by connecting marshmallows with pretzels, scarves out of Twizzlers, a nose of Tic-Tacs and chocolate chips for buttons and eyes.

“It’s better than just sitting and watching TV,” Destany said later as she gave her second snowman arms and legs of broken pretzels.

Destany later had a rainbow painted on her face and bowled with her brother Gaige, 14, and his friend Austin Klevenger.

Klevenger, 12, said bowling a basketball into two liter bottles filled with water was his favorite part of the carnival, because he said it was challenging but fun.

Klevenger said he and Gaige had planned to skate, but the rinks closed early this year.

Had the ice rinks been open, Davis said more children would likely have been out ice skating. She said they’ll likely hold the event towards the end of January next year when the rinks would still be open.

“I think getting the word out to kids (is the hardest part),” Davis said. “We send out fliers to kids; we do pretty much anything you can think of to do, but it doesn’t always go. A lot of time kids bring fliers home but they may not always make it to mom and dad.”

Even if the winter carnival didn’t attract the nearly 100 the summer carnival does, Davis said it was still fulfilling to see children coming out and having fun.

“(My favorite part) is seeing it actually come together and people coming out for it and having fun … just finally seeing people come and have fun and doing all the activities,” Davis said.