WHITEFISH — Whitefish City Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kevin Gartland says Whitefish Winter Carnival has been going on for 60 years.
Gartland told MTN News that it was started as a fun way for people to get through the winter months. Unfortunately, Whitefish City Manager Dana Smith says this year some floats used confetti which is still sticking in the streets weeks after the parade.
"There was confetti thrown from one of the floats that we're aware of, and unfortunately that's caused a mess in downtown," explained Smith
You can see plastic confetti pieces left over from the carnival strewn throughout the street and stuck in bushes. Garland told MTN that confetti hasn't been a problem at past parades and attributes this year's theme to the issue.
"This year's theme was the roaring twenties," said Gartland "The issue of the confetti on the street, some of which is still lingering around is just a matter of the type of decorations folks had on their float."
Smith told MTN News that in the future no floats will be able to have confetti or anything else that could potentially pollute the streets. She added it’s not only unpleasant to look at, but the confetti could've made its way into the sewers.
"Any time that we have garbage or pieces of plastic that are going into our storm sewers it's not ideal," said Smith "So, we try and clean that up beforehand."
Gartland explained that it's not easy to clean up, “wWith the ice there, it kinda locks things in and then it snows, and it thaws, and it gets loose again and then it snows again. So, we've been kinda trying to chase their tails.”
Smith says workers are now actively cleaning the streets with shovels and street sweepers. However, she asks that if people see confetti in the streets to please pick it up.
