FRANCONIA NOTCH, New Hampshire ??” Cannon Mountain is presenting the New England Telemark Festival this season Saturday January 22 and Sunday January 23. Cannon Mountain will host the festival this year. Festival events will include races, a costume festival, trivia, lessons and clinics. Participants are treated to all events and demo gear for free with a ticket purchase. The Headquarter will be in the Peabody Lodge. Come buy your festival ticket, register and sign up for clinics and events.

Tickets are $49, which is the same price as regular weekend ticket but includes all demos, lessons and events. All participants will have a chance to demo the newest gear for free. Representatives of the Telemark companies want to give everyone a chance to use the gear, thus if a participant needs gear for the whole day rentals will be available. Everyone from Scottybob skis to 22 Designs (Hammerhead) will be represented at the fest. The New England Telemark Festival is a great chance to try all of the new gear.

All clinics are 1 1/2 hours long and are free. Clinic times are 10:30 and 1:30. Private lessons will be available for $25 an hour.

Clinics are for all abilities, from never-evers to expert. Some of the special clinics will include: cross-over clinics for alpine skiers coming to Telemark; master-clinics taught by our Educational Staff members, these are clinics for the expert; snowboard to telemark, Ron Lessard will lead a clinic for experienced snowboarders coming over to telemark; detect and correct, a quick firing clinic meant to help you with immediate noticeable problems; women’s clinic, where women will be teaching women; a conditions clinic dealing with the various snow conditions one finds. Depending on what Cannon is experiencing the day of the fest we could be talking anything from deep powder to bulletproof ice; mogul clinics where the best bumpers show participants how it’s done; an adventure clinic where Kurt White will find some true adventures in the trees and glades; a ski posse clinic and a video clinic.

Saturday will feature the famous Uphill/Downhill race, a costume contest, telemark trivia contest, a raffle and a prize party beginning at 4 p.m. Expect top prizes for the events. However the raffle prizes will be a pair of Bomber Bishop Bindings and a four-day catered backcountry trip courtesy of Kootenay Experience.

The New England Telemark Festival’s title sponsors this year are Eastern Mountain Sports, Atomic skis and Cannon Mountain. Sponsors for this years Festival include: Alpina, Backcountry Mag, G3, Bulldog, Black Diamond, Garmont, Karhu, Kootenay Experience, ScottyBob’s Ski, K2, Mahoosuc Mountain Sports, PSIA, RSN, Rossignol, 22 Design (Hammerhead), Ragged Mountain, Teleboard, Redbull, Cliffbar, Telemarkdown.com, Telemarktips.com and Smuttynose beer.

For more information, visit www.cannonmt.com or call 603-823-8800.