Gatlinburg Winterfest 2015 Update

Students - PLEASE make sure your parents have joined the Remind text update with the info I sent you. Also - please make sure they read this post.


Hello parents

As you know, safety is our primary concern for this weekend. We have no interest in putting our students and leaders in danger.

We have been watching very closely the conditions/forecasts both here and in Gatlinburg. I have also been in communication with Winterfest leadership as well as the local rental company supplying our lodging. We feel we have enough information to make a judgment call now, but we reserve the right to adjust our plans based on the weather.

Some roads in Gatlinburg are horrible, but the main roads and the roads to our cabins are totally clear. We believe getting from our lodging to the conference center will not be problematic for us at all.

The forecast on Friday predicts snow beginning here around 1:00 PM and snow/wintry mix in Gatlinburg beginning around 8:00.

We believe leaving at 9am on Friday instead of noon will allow us to keep ahead of bad weather and get to the cabins well before any dangerous conditions impact traveling safely. We are not scheduled to leave the cabin until after lunch on Saturday, and warmer temperatures/rain are predicted for that time. If the roads are bad, we will stay in our cabins. This means we may miss parts of the conference, but we feel it is the safest approach for the weekend.

We will be taking extra food with us just in case we do need to say in the cabins, but we do not expect to need it. We just want to be extra cautious.

It will be a good idea for your students to pack a blanket with them just in case we lose power while we are there so they can bundle up to stay warm. Again, we don't expect that...we just want to be cautious.

Please make sure your students confine themselves to ONE SMALL DUFFLE OR SUITCASE!! Space is a premium while we are traveling since we'll be taking extra food.

If you have any questions, please call, text, or email me.

Thanks!
Michael