Mike Steele: Winterfest vital to Chelan, but events aren’t a year-round solution

CHELAN — Standing at the council table in City Hall, Mike Steele wasn’t talking politics.

Instead, the longtime community figure, who also serves as executive director of the Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce, walked city and Port leaders through the realities behind one of the area’s most visible winter events.

Winterfest, he said, remains essential to the local economy. But it comes with growing challenges.

“This is a $253,000 event to produce,” Steele said. “And we all just hold onto our hats, hopeful that we will make that money back.”

This year’s event drew 7,605 attendees across two weekends, split between Chelan and Manson. The Chamber reported a $13,000 loss, a significant improvement from prior years when weather-related setbacks led to much larger deficits.

Still, Steele said the margins remain tight, and the model itself has limits.

The conversation came as city leaders and representatives from the Chelan-Douglas Regional Port Authority were already discussing broader economic trends, including Chelan’s heavy reliance on summer tourism and the need to build a more stable, year-round economy.

Steele said shifting that pattern is not as simple as adding more events.

“I totally agree that events are not sustainable,” he said, referring back to the larger discussion being held in the room. “They take a lot of money and time.”

Even so, he emphasized that Winterfest plays a critical role for local businesses during a traditionally slow season.

“They could not make it through the year without Winterfest,” Steele said.

But to match the scale of Winterfest would require significant funding, volunteer capacity and favorable weather, all of which are difficult to replicate month after month.

Instead, he pointed to a larger challenge, changing how Chelan is perceived.

“Our brand is fun, sun, lake,” Steele said. “That’s what it’s been for a hundred and however many years.”

Efforts to promote shoulder seasons have had mixed results. Even when media and visitors are brought to Chelan during fall or winter, Steele said the focus often returns to summer imagery.

“We’re working against our own brand,” he said, even calling the city a kind of victim of its own success.

That challenge is already showing up in early-season activity. Steele said Memorial Day, once a reliable kickoff to the tourism season, has softened in recent years.

“Last year, people asked if Memorial Day even happened because it just felt so dead in town,” he said.

At the same time, Steele stressed that growth remains essential for the community and its businesses.

“We do not want to be a community that isn’t growing. A community that isn’t growing is dying,” he said.

He tied that directly to broader economic goals, including housing affordability and wages.

“The only way to build living wage jobs and affordability is to have opportunities for people to work in our community,” Steele said.

Steele said the Chamber is continuing to adjust its approach, including increased marketing efforts and new promotional strategies aimed at drawing visitors during off-peak periods.

But he emphasized that long-term change will require coordination across the city, Port and business community.

“This is a team sport,” Steele said. “And we all need to be pulling in the same direction.”

The Winterfest recap ended on a cautiously optimistic note. After what Steele described as a difficult year for local businesses, early signs in 2026 appear stronger.

“We’re really hopeful that 2026 is going to be a much better year,” he said.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media