The Scarborough skating rink was filled with families for the town’s annual Winterfest celebration on Sunday.

After being postponed in January due to unseasonably warm weather, the event proved worth the wait. The fresh dumping of snow from the Valentine’s Day storm set the scene and provided plenty of material for participants in the snow sculpture competition. The sun was out, too, keeping skaters from shivering on the ice.

Town councilor Shawn Babine acted as master of ceremonies, directing Scarborough residents to all the fun-filled events. The celebration started with the lighting of the bonfire at noon, which kept burning well into the afternoon.

Skaters gathered inside to bundle up before hitting the ice with special guest, Frosty the Snowman. Others relaxed by the bonfire and took advantage of the concession stand, which sold burgers and hot dogs for the hungry and hot chocolate for the chilly. Free coffee was provided by Tim Horton’s. Raffle tickets were also sold at the concession stand. Prizes included Lost Valley ski vouchers, gift certificates to area businesses and brand new ice skates.

Micayla Lawson, Ryanne Berry and Kayla Keimach, all 10, said their favorite part of Winterfest was just skating around. The three friends also enjoyed making snow sculptures, and their creation, entitled “Club Penguin,” won a prize in the competition.

Jordan Smith, 7, tried skating for the first time at Winterfest, and he even competed in the slalom race, but was slowed down by his two falls. “This ice is really hard,” he said.

Another 7-year-old, Lauren O’Reilly, had more success in the skating competitions and was crowned queen of Winterfest for her age group. Despite her wins, the modest competitor insisted that her favorite part of the celebration was “just having fun.”

Henry Cook, 9, headed up to the sledding hill with his mother, Brenda, and his homemade cardboard sled. Cook said it took him two days to construct the cardboard and duct taped creation that was shaped like a car, complete with license plate that read “Boxhead.” After the race, Cook planned one heading right back to the skating rink to participate in the belly-busters competition, where participants slide as far as they can across the ice on their stomachs.

As the afternoon’s activities came to a close, 9-year-olds Colleen Morehead and Anna Bolton sat atop their snow sculpture, an American flag created with food dye for the stripes and snowballs for the stars, waiting for the winners to be announced.

Babine questioned one of the judges, his fellow town councilor Patrick O’Reilly, on the difficulty of determining a winning sculpture versus deciphering the town budget.

“I understand the town budget more than this,” O’Reilly replied.

Morehead and Bolton’s sculpture emerged as one of the three winners, announced just before the crowning of the kings and queens of Winterfest. The winter royalty for each age group was determined by the number of points accumulated from competing in different events throughout the afternoon.

The winners were, for grades K-2, Lauren O’Reilly and Eric Quirk; for grades 3-5, Riley McKeown and Rachael Wallace, tied for queen, and Ian Morris; and for grades 6-8, Emily Robbins and Travis Beaney.

There was plenty of fun to be had for the whole family at this year’s celebration. However, with ribbons flying from their hands and s’mores smeared across their faces, it was clear that the kids of Scarborough ruled Winterfest.