CHENANGO FORKS, NY (WIVT/WBGH) – A fun combination of hockey and the outdoors is returning to Chenango Valley State Park for the first time since 2020.

The Binghamton Pond Festival will begin on January 20, 2023.

It includes snowshoeing, fireworks, a charity drive, and of course, hockey.

The festival hosts three weekends of hockey tournaments on the largest refrigerated outdoor ice sheet in North America (220′ x 110′).

Teams can still register here for each of the three weekends, which includes an adult 3v3 tournament (Jan, 20-22), a youth weekend (Jan. 27-29), and an adult 4v4 tournament (Feb. 3-5).

Proceeds from the events will be donated to local non-profit organizations that support youth sports and education. Since its inaugural year in 2016, the festival has donated over $40,000 to local community initiatives.

Event organizer Tytus Haller said, “After a couple of years off, we are so happy to be back and working with the crew at Chenango Valley State Park to bring fun weekends and memorable experiences back to the hockey community. CV State Park is such a beautiful and unique environment to hold an event like this and our team could not do this without the help and support of the Office of New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.”

For less experienced hockey players, there will also be a free “try hockey” session to help kids learn about the sport. There will be help from the Southern Tier Hockey Association, the Binghamton Blizzard Girls Hockey Association, and a full trailer of equipment to try.

For more information, you can visit bingpondfest.com.