A Blizzard At The Raceway

Jordyn Wickham, 4, came racing around the side of the 12-foot tall snow mountain, holding a snowball in one mitten. She took dead aim at Dad.

"No, no, no," warned Byron Wickham of Sebring. "Keep it on that side."

This is the first time Jordyn has played in snow.

"Well, the first she'll remember," Wickham said. Jordyn went to the first Snow Fest, held behind Lakeshore Mall, when she was a baby.

Since then, Big Brothers Big Sisters has expanded the annual festival to the county fairgrounds, and now to Sebring International Raceway, which donated the use of the field to build two 12-foot tall snow mountains for kids to run, climb, jump and throw snowballs at each other, just like they're doing in the Midwest.

Actually, it felt like a Blue Norther' in Highlands County. Saturday dawned at 40 degrees, which helped sell tickets, said Tameesha Hudson, who is coordinating the event.

Snow Fest is Big Brothers Big Sisters' annual fundraiser. They charged $5 for each child and parent, and they'll get at least 4,000 customers, said Hudson.

Do the math: that's $20,000.

"We serve 300 kids," said Ann Marie Welty, the chief development officer. That means each child has his or her own mentor who takes Little Sisters or Little Brothers to lunch, or works in the dropout prevention program.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is always looking for volunteers and mentors, said Hudson, and it's always looking for board members.

More info: 402-9001.