The 28th annual Winter Fun Festival, a major four-wheel drive event hosted by the California Association of Four Wheel Drive Clubs, has been scheduled for Friday, Jan. 15, through Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010 at the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley.

According to Frank Funk, one of the event organizers, the Winter Fun Festival will offer three different historical and narrated sport utility vehicle trips and 10 separate four-wheel drive runs in the Sierra Nevada for experienced drivers. He said the Frostbite Extreme trip on Saturday is always a favorite for those seeking an experience in deep snow.

“We fully expect that we will have 600 participants joining us this year,” Funk said. “So we highly recommend that people register as early as possible. In addition to the various trips in the snow, we will provide great meals beginning with the Friday night dinner through lunch on Sunday. In our large facility at the fairgrounds, we will feature indoor entertainment and recreation for children and adults.”

Bingo games will be featured on Friday and Saturday nights.

Funk said his committee has two historical SUV trips scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 16 and one additional SUV trip on Sunday, Jan 17. Additionally, the event features a Friday night moderately difficult run that begins after dinner and seven other snow runs on Saturday that range from the Blizzard Brigade in moderately deep snow to the Frostbite Express. In addition to the SUV run on Sunday, the Winter Fun Festival offers the Snowcat and Iceberg trips, moderately difficult in unlimited snow depths.

SUV owners will not require any special equipment and stock vehicles should have no difficulty in the snow using four-wheel drive, low range.

“Our experienced trail guides have selected routes that are historically significant, interesting, scenic and very safe for all makes and models of SUVs and other four-wheel drive rigs,” Funk said.

~Staff report

28TH WINTER FUN FESTIVAL

When: Friday, Jan. 15 to Sunday, jan. 17, 2010

Where: Nevada County Fairgrounds,

Grass Valley

Information: Contact Pat or Mike Bashore at (530) 878-1414 or

e-mail patnmikeb@in

reach.com; online

registration is

available at cal4wheel.com/store