Winterfest
It is time to register for Winterfest 2022! Winterfest is a weekend retreat designed specifically for middle and high school teens and set in Gatlinburg. The teachers and guests that come use real life stories, drama, music and scripture to make the Christian walk come alive to the teens involved. Our acappella praise and worship times are uplifting and engaging. Believing that the Christian life can be very joyful, we bring in the best Christian entertainers we can find to challenge teens with their lifestyle and their attitudes.
Winterfest is going to be February 18-20 and it will be back to normal for 2022. We will plan on meeting at Laurel at 4:30 on Friday February 18 and we will be back Sunday around noon. The cost for Winterfest will be $110 for early registrants and $125 for late registrants. There will also be a $10 sibling discount per sibling for families paying for multiple students. The early registration deadline will be Sunday January 16th. The cost for Chaperones will be $50. These rates are all more expensive than they were this time two years ago, but we’ve done our best to make Winterfest as affordable as possible for everyone despite the inflation we’ve experienced since February of 2020. If anyone is in need of a full or partial scholarship please do let me know. We’ll do everything we can to make sure money is not the reason anyone doesn’t go to Winterfest.
For those of you who want to get the jump on Winterfest payments, you can make your first payment any time you wish. If you start paying in December, you will have the option to make three payments ($40 any time in December, $35 by January 16, and $35 by February 13 ). If you choose to begin payments in January, you will make two payments ($55 by January 16, $55 by February 13). If your payments begin after January 16, the price will increase to $125 and any discounts will be forfeited.
We will be staying at the Holiday Inn Express on Historic Nature Trail Blvd. Our hotel is right next to the convention center. Google maps says it is a 2 minute walk. I’m thrilled with our hotels location. Our hotel also has a heated indoor pool and miniature splashpad/waterpark area. For more info on the hotel click on the link below.
Our hotel also includes free breakfast. We will also be providing everyone with a pizza dinner on Friday night before the main session. With this being the case students will only need to bring money for two meals, Saturday lunch and Saturday dinner. Keep in mind that food in Gatlinburg is going to be more expensive than it would be in Knoxville. Students should also bring extra money for any other extracurricular activities they want to do around Gatlinburg during free time. Examples of such activities include: Arcades, Laser Tag, Putt Putt Golf, Souvenir Shopping, Gatlinburg Space Needle, etc…
Our policy is that students will never share a bed with an adult that is not their parent. For this reason it is imperative that we have as many parent chaperones as possible in order to keep our cost down by filling our hotel rooms. If any parents are interested in chaperoning please do let me know. Our plan will be to make sure there is an adult in every middle school room, and parents will have the option to allow their high school student to be in a room without a chaperone. This will also be based on the maturity level of a given high school student as determined by Kimberlin, myself, and other relevant adult leaders.
At some point in the next few weeks I’ll be putting together a brief Winterfest Rules video. Every student will be required to watch this video and fill out a worksheet demonstrating their understanding of the rules with their signature agreeing to follow them. This is to make sure every student knows what will be expected of them as well as the consequences for not following our rules.
I know in the past we’ve had a Winterfest meeting during the bible class hour on a Sunday morning, but we will not be doing that for this trip. If anyone has any questions regarding any of the details about Winterfest or whats expected of students please do let me know. Be on the lookout for that rules video and worksheet. Meanwhile you can go ahead and register your student using the link below.
https://laurelcc.breezechms.com/form/aaa0f3
-Trey