Carlow Mayo holds Snowman Building Contest

February 26, 2026

By Michael Riley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Carlow Mayo Snowman Building Contest organizer Erin Gabourie’s kids Evelyn (in the purple) and Owen (in the green/yellow), and their dog Todd with their snowman on Feb. 16. The contest is being put on by the Carlow Recreation committee and runs from Feb. 7 to 28. /Michael Riley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Carlow Recreation Committee launched a Snowman Building Contest on Feb. 7 that will run until Feb. 28. It’s the first year that the committee is hosting this contest, and they did it to encourage families to get outside together and as a way to help break up the winter blues. Organizer Erin Gabourie comments to Bancroft This Week about this inaugural year for the contest.

Gabourie told Bancroft This Week that they officially launched the first year of this contest on Feb. 7, and it will run until Feb. 28. She says that the idea came after hearing about a neighbouring community that holds a scarecrow building competition in the fall.

“We thought a snowman contest would be a fun way to help break up the winter blues and encourage families to get outside together. Since the contest only launched this past weekend, and with the weather not being ideal for snowman building, we haven’t received any entries just yet. We’re hopeful that with warmer temperatures in the forecast and the upcoming Family Day weekend, families will take advantage of the opportunity to head outdoors and build their snowmen or snowwomen,” she says.

Gabourie says that the Wintertime fun basket is still being finalized, but their goal is to include items that families can enjoy together outdoors and that make winter activities a little more fun.

“We’re hoping this contest helps increase engagement on our Facebook page. That’s where we’ll be sharing information about upcoming events and where community members can connect with us and share their own ideas. We’re currently trying out different events to see what resonates most with the community and which activities are no longer working. So far, the feedback on the snowman contest has been very positive. Many community members are seeing it as a new and exciting idea,” she says. “We really like that this contest offers flexibility for families, since it can be done at any time between now and the end of the month, rather than requiring attendance at a specific day or time at the hall.”