The news that the Winter Festival in Mayville has been saved was good news in a barely new year that has racked up some tragedy in its infancy. If we can celebrate life amidst the burning embers of Los Angeles and the deaths of the young adults in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, that’s a good thing. Throughout the years in this column I’ve urged you to create a little bubble of goodness to live in. Our yearly festivals are part of that bubble.

In case you’re behind in the news, the Mayville Winter Festival initially faced cancellation this year due to increased expenses and challenges in organizing the event. However, there was a fortunate development where Inspire Good of Western New York, Inc., a local nonprofit, announced they would take over and proceed with the festival.

I love Hail Mary’s. How about you?

Now that the festival is up and running again, I’d like to urge everyone to bundle up in their best furry boots and ear muffs and be a part of the fun. It’s up to the community to send the message to organizers that our local events are important to us.

And not to rehash old wounds, but people still hope to see the Bemus Bay Pops return one day. How about a once-a-year bash? An all day summer concert? The exit of the Pops still feels like a blight on our record. It was a weekly program loved by locals and out-of-town visitors alike and it disappeared in what felt like the height of its popularity and appeal. We need to be good stewards of the things that make our region special. And I know how smug that sounds since I’m not an organizer dealing with the finances and all of the other details of big events.

But it’s true, many things that have defined our regions or our nation have fallen by the wayside or out of existence through the years, because things change. Barnum & Bailey Circus. Does that ring any bells?

President-Elect Trump is talking about revising the World’s Fair again, which at one time was an unparalleled event that defined progress and showcased man’s ingenuity. The first electric lights, the first telephones were unveiled at the fair. It was a magical event that highlighted innovation, culture, and global exchange. Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the fairs became grand spectacles, with an average of six million attendees.

The World’s Fair never officially ended, but public perception has shifted over time. The fairs, which are now referred to as Expos, continue to be held periodically, though they may not always capture the same level of global attention as they did during their heyday in the 19th and early 20th centuries. What could they showcase today that we can’t see on the internet? Maybe it’s just the act of coming together as a world that is meaningful.

Other things that are missed: the Boston Tea Party reenactment in Boston, Lilith Fair concerts that celebrated women in music, the Buffalo-Courier Express, Marshall Field’s enchanted holiday windows in Chicago (which lost their magic when Macy’s bought the store), and Friendly’s banana splits. Feel free to make your own lists.

Here’s an annual pastime in Chautauqua County you might not know about: horse racing on area lakes was a unique chapter in our history. In the 1890s, there were horse races on the ice on Findley Lake in January and February. According to the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame, the horses had special calks on their shoes so they wouldn’t slip on the ice.

People skated on the ice on Findley, Cassadaga Lake, Chautauqua, as well as on any small pond that froze. Chautauqua Lake also had ice boats with sails and ice boat races, but sledding seemed to be most popular and something anyone could do. “In the 1930s and ’40s, sledding and tobogganing parties were very popular on the hilly highways such as Stockton, Sprague Hill near Levant, Ravlin Hill near Clymer, Buesink Hill in Mina and others,” the Hall Of Fame website explains. “On a good night, 30 or 40 young people would gather and spend two or three hours speeding down an icy hill and coasting nearly half a mile away, then they’d walk back up the hill hauling their sled or toboggan for another run.” Gosh that sounds like fun.

Ah, there’s things we miss. Thankfully, the winter festival in Mayville won’t be one. Embrace the winter. Those hardy people who lived before us certainly did.