Iola Winter Carnival

03/27/2026

❤️ Giving Back to Our Community ❤️
Last night President Megan Melum and Treasurer Kim Bartel had the honor of presenting donation checks on behalf of the Iola Winter Carnival to several incredible local organizations:

🇺🇸 Norm Ehrenberg representing the American Legion – $2,500

⛪ Our Savior’s Lutheran Church – $500 (accepted by Norm)

🎿 Iola Winter Sports Club – $1,000 (accepted by Holly Bauer)

🌊 Veteran Park Pier Project – $1,000 (accepted by Holly Neuman)

🎆 Iola Fireworks – $500 (accepted by Gregg Loescher)

🚒 Not pictured: Iola Fire & Ambulance – $1,000

✨ Total Donations: $6,500 ✨

This is what the Iola Winter Carnival is all about—bringing our community together and giving back to the organizations that make Iola such a special place.
Thank you to everyone who attended, volunteered, and supported this year’s carnival. We couldn’t do it without you! 💙

02/09/2026

The Town of Iola continues a ski jumping tradition that dates back to the early 1900s, keeping Norwegian culture alive in rural Wisconsin.
STORY: https://www.wsaw.com/2026/02/09/iola-ski-jump-tradition-celebrates-norwegian-heritage/

02/09/2026

💙 Lutefisk Supper Recap 💙
What a wonderful night at the Iola Winter Carnival Lutefisk Supper! With around 280 guests served—plus 40 amazing volunteers, it was a full house filled with great food, good conversation, and lots of smiling faces. A true celebration of tradition and community.
We also had the honor of crowning our 2026 Snow Queen—congratulations to Deliliah Kulinski! 👑✨ A special moment and a proud highlight of the evening.
Thank you to everyone who attended, volunteered, cooked, served, and helped make this long-standing Winter Carnival tradition such a success.
❄️ More photos to come!

02/09/2026

❄️ Ice Carving Competition Results ❄️
What an incredible display of creativity, talent, and teamwork at this year’s Iola Winter Carnival Ice Carving Competition! Our carvers truly turned blocks of ice into works of art, making it very hard to choose just three winners.

🏆 1st Place
Josh & Kristi Stacey – taking the top spot with a beautifully crafted butterfly, showcasing stunning detail and elegance in ice. Absolutely breathtaking!

🥈 2nd Place
A2B Creations (Brian Moore) – earning second place with a festive and incredibly detailed gnome on skis that captured both winter spirit and personality perfectly.

🥉 3rd Place
Brittney Langman – rounding out the winners with a whimsical hot air balloon floating over mountains, full of charm and imagination.

Huge thanks to all of our carvers for braving the cold and sharing your talent with the community—and to everyone who stopped by to watch the magic happen. Another year in the books and a day full of making winter carnival memories ❤️

02/09/2026

Yesterday was filled with some serious chili sampling, taste-testing, and a whole lot of friendly debate, the ballots are in—and we officially have a winner!
🏆 Congratulations to our 2026 Iola Winter Carnival Chili Walk Champion — The Iola Mills! 🏆
With 146 ballots cast, the competition was tight and the chili was top-tier. Thank you to all of our Chili Walk stops who brought the heat, the comfort, and the creativity—every single stop had its fans!
And a huge thank-you to everyone who grabbed a ballot, bundled up, and supported this fun community tradition. This is what the Iola Winter Carnival is all about ❤️
Chili glory has officially been claimed… and those bragging rights last all year!
Iola Mills

02/08/2026

Raffle Ticket Winners for the 2026 Iola Winter Carnival!

02/08/2026

Don’t miss the Historic Ski Jumping Competition at the Iola Ski Hill as part of the Iola Winter Carnival!
🕛 Starts at noon
⏰ Runs until 3:30–4:00 PM
🎯 4 jumps on the 60-meter hill
Watch brave jumpers soar, cheer on a true Winter Carnival tradition, and soak up the excitement at the ski hill. Plus cross country trails are in beautiful shape!
🎟️ Don’t forget your raffle tickets!
There’s still time to grab them before the 3:00 PM drawing — and you do not need to be present to win!
👉 Bundle up, bring your crew, it's going to be a great day at the ski hill, we'll see you there!

02/08/2026

Such a pleasure to have Ali! She brings such a bright addition. Thank you Face Painting by Ali

02/07/2026