Demonstrators accomplished what balmy temperatures could not:
Their presence in droves expected Saturday forced the cancellation
of at least some of the events of the fifth annual Madison Winter
Festival, which had been planned for Capitol Square this
weekend.

“There’s not much we can do about it,” festival president Yuriy
Gusev said Thursday evening, just hours after he vowed that a week
of high temperatures and melting snow would not daunt plans for a
two-day event filled with sledding, snowshoeing, cross-country ski
races and more.

Winter Fest organizers are scheduled to meet with city of
Madison officials at 8 a.m. Friday to see which — if any — events
can be relocated off the Square, Gurev said. But plans to transport
nearly 100 truckloads of snow from the Alliant Energy Center to
Capitol Square for the festival have been canceled, he said. The
snow is traditionally used in part to convert pavement near the
Capitol into a competitive ski track. 

Demonstrations sparked by proposals by the Walker administration
that drew thousands throughout the week are expected to continue
into the weekend. 

More information and videos from past Winter Fests are online at
www.winter-fest.com.