On one of the windiest, coldest days of the year over 800 people of all ages gathered at Soldotna Creek Park for 2nd Annual Frozen River Festival. It was a family fun time in the great outdoors where nary a person was texting due to mittens or frozen thumbs. People were visiting face to face not on Facebook, dancing with each other and not a video game as they enjoyed the live band, kids learned outdoor skills like archery and kick sledding, while adults tasted Alaskan craft brews from locally breweries. “A lot of happy people here today, smiling faces and families having fun, hot cocoa to take the chill off and good food vendors,” said Jack Sinclair, executive director for the Kenai Watershed Forum which was the beneficiary of the profits from the event. “I’m really enjoying the position I’m in at the Watershed Forum helping this community work with the local environment here and learning to appreciate the watershed and the great things it provides for us, the world class fishery and all the great things that comes with it. Today’s event was certainly a lot of fun, it was like meeting your friends at the post office and getting caught up with what’s going on,” he said. According to Sinclair the event was a huge volunteer effort from the City of Soldotna to the National Guard and the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce and a lot of other local businesses and service groups. Without a doubt a great antidote for Cabin Fever which can become epidemic this time of year with the lack of snow for outdoor winter activities this time of year.