WATERVILLE — A winter carnival scheduled for Saturday at Quarry Road Recreation Area has been canceled because of a lack of snow.

“The conditions are not what we expect for Feb. 4,” Parks & Recreation Director Matt Skehan said Wednesday. “We aren’t canceling for lack of support. A lot of volunteers were willing to do everything to make sure it was as big and successful as last year.”

The event will not be rescheduled for this winter, but will return the first Saturday of February next year, Skehan said.

The recreation area is still open and the trails are being groomed, but it would not be appropriate to bring novice skiers to the festival, he said about the decision he made with Friends of Quarry Road board members Ellen Wells and Caroline Mathes.

Mathes, of Central Maine Ski Club, said a middle school junior ski league race scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at Quarry Road will go on as planned.

She and Wells said some events in other areas will be held this weekend, including a women’s ski instruction program Sunday at Titcomb Mountain in Farmington. Registration for that event, which is hosted by the Farmington Ski Club, starts at 12:30 p.m.

The Ice Fishing Derby & Winter Carnival will be held all day Saturday at Lake George Regional Park, in Skowhegan and Canaan.

Skehan said organizers of the Quarry Road festival, which is free-of-charge, are disappointed it had to be canceled, as there are so many features of the facility and festival they wanted to tout. They include a road that has been rebuilt, a new parking lot that is centrally located to skiing areas, shuttles to take people to and from the event and a new 5K trail that is geared toward intermediate and advanced skiers.

The recreation area is open dawn until dusk, seven days a week.

Amy Calder — 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com

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