With signs of the County’s cold and snowy winter in huge piles around campus, the University of Maine at Presque Isle is hosting its second annual winter survival celebration for students, faculty and staff at 3 p.m. on Thursday, March 19 at Gentile Hall.

Frozen Frenzy II will include winter games, contests, and prizes all meant to celebrate the campus’s winter “survivability.” This year’s event is being organized by the UMPI Pride Committee with planning support by Professor Dawn McPherson’s Recreation class. Students in the course, which focuses on program planning, will be earning class credit to plan activities for the celebration.

According to Dean of Students Chris Corsello, the event is a way to shake off the winter blues and have a little campus-wide fun before everyone heads out for Spring Break.

“Frozen Frenzy is a chance for us to take pride in our institution. Even though it’s been cold and windy, and even though we get a serious amount of snow here, our campus community has endured – and many of them have done so while maintaining a full course load,” Corsello said. “We feel it’s important to come together as a campus, celebrate our winter ‘survivability,’ and hope that spring is coming soon.”

The UMPI Pride Committee established this event last year to help fulfill its mission of promoting unity, spirit, visibility and a positive image of UMPI on campus and throughout the greater community area through community activities and services.

Students, faculty and staff are invited to take part in the afternoon’s activities, which are slated to include an ice chunk heave, a tug-of-war, a winter clothing relay race, and possibly some snowball fighting. Organizers hope to end the day’s events with a bonfire. The first 100 to attend will receive a free gift.

For more information about this event, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 768-9615.