It’s not all child’s play at the Steamboat Winter Carnival Night Show Extravaganza.
Every year, over 600 kids from the Steamboat Winter Sports Club participate in the Winter Carnival Night Show Extravaganzaa, and it’s considered a rite of passage to reach the age of eight to be eligible to take part. Local kids look forward to it partly because they get to stand up at the top of Howelsen Hill and look down at a crowd of thousands of people who gather to watch the festivities; partly because they get a bird’s eye view of the fireworks; and mostly because they get to ski down carrying a real, live flare.
It’s not all fireworks for Blair Seymour, who after devoting nearly 30 years of her life to SSWSC as the Director of People and Sport Development, is also the Program Director for the Winer Carnival Night Show Extravaganza. “I’m the one running around behind the scenes with my radio cueing everyone that night,” she says of being the producer and choreographer of the nighttime show. “The funny thing is, we have no dress rehearsal, so you never know exactly how it’s going to turn out.”
The nighttime show is the big Winter Carnival event for local kids during the town’s long-standing celebration of winter, now in its 112th year. Winter Carnival was originally started by SSWSC as a way to cope with cabin fever in the middle of winter, but over the years, it’s evolved into a celebration of the town and its long-standing tradition. While the evening event also features spectacular fireworks display and The Lighted Man, who skis down the mountain wrapped in lights with Roman candles shooting out of his backpack, there’s a whole lot more to it than that, according to Seymour.
“We tried using glow sticks with the little kids, but then realized they don’t work when it’s super cold,” Seymour says, explaining that they spend a lot of time the week before the show going over safety protocol. “At least we know the flare will go out if it falls in the snow. But it’s so exciting for a little kid when they are finally handed a flare. It’s such a novelty for them.” Ponchos and vests that have been elaborately donned in LED lighting are also worn by the kids for a light show on skis that is rigorously choreographed and produced by Seymour. “I literally have these body diagrams for parents that show where the lights go and how you attach it. Many, many hours go into just prepping the lights.”
This is just one of several seemingly outlandish traditions that the show encompasses. The freeski skiers slide a rail that’s on fire. The ski jumpers (age 16 and up) launch the 75-meter jump dressed up in LED lights in complete darkness. “Athletes have been doing the jump in the dark for several years now,” Seymour says. “They can’t see the landing are literally launching themselves into the dark abyss and hoping they land, eventually.”
The ski patrollers jump through fiery hoops, one pulling a toboggan that’s—you guessed it—lit on fire. One highlight of the night is The Lighted Man, now represented by Kent Banks who continues a tradition started by the family and Claudius, in 1936.
To top it all off, the fireworks are generously provided by pyrotechnic enthusiasts Tim and Janet Borden.
As soon as it’s over, it’s back to the drawing board for Seymour, who says she always immediately starts thinking about how to make it better the following year—and doesn’t stop. “I think about what worked and what didn’t work. All summer I’m thinking of ways that I can improve or be more innovative. It’s all about thinking outside the box.”
The Night Show Extravaganza is a fundraiser for SSWSC and spectators must purchase a button for a $15 to experience the show on Saturday night as well as participate in any other Winter Carnival activities.
For more information and a full schedule of events, go to steamboatchamber.com.
