15 Fun Winter Festivals to Enjoy This Season

So the holiday season has officially passed us by. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, or something else entirely, early January is always a strange part of the year. The winter festivities we looked forward to are over with, and now we’re ready for spring! But wait… Now comes the horrible realization that winter has barely even started.

So what to do in these coming months? Of course you could just sit inside by the fire or with the heat cranked up waiting for spring to finally come, but why do that when the winter has so much to offer?

Don’t believe us? Well take a look at this–our list of 15 fun winter festivals to enjoy this season:

telegraph.co.uk

Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival

This annual festival takes place every winter in Harbin, China and is officially the largest ice and snow festival in the world. From relatively humble beginnings in 1963, the festival has grown into a true international event–participants and visitors come from around the world to craft regularly record-breaking ice sculptures. Harbin officially begins on January 5th and runs for a month, but exhibitions generally remain open as long as the weather permits–and its location in northeast China often allows things to go on much longer. Once the festival grounds begin melting away, it’s finally take to pack up and head home–wherever home may be!

travelsort.com

Quebec Winter Carnival

Held on and off since the late 19th century and continuously since 1955, the Quebec Winter Carnival is one of Canada’s most storied annual events. Taking place from late January to late February in beautiful and historic Quebec City, the Winter Carnival regularly draws more than one million attendees to enjoy the festivities. Bonhomme, the carnival’s iconic mascot, is always present, and he remains very popular with young festival-goers. Meanwhile, the Quebec Winter Carnival’s reputation as the “Mardi Gras of the North” ensures that adults continue flocking to the Carnival in droves!

ibtimes.co.uk

Carnival of Venice

Held towards the end of winter in the picturesque Italian city of canals, the Carnival of Venice is renowned around the world for the incredible and detailed costumes used–particularly the celebrants’ masks. The Carnival of Venice has its roots in religious tradition–it has historically acted as one final party before the Christian season of lent, much like Mardi Gras in some other parts of the world. That said, also like Mardi Gras, the Carnival of Venice has changed with time. Nowadays, people celebrate during Carnival whether religious or not, and of course people of all religions and denominations are welcome to participate.

telegraph.co.uk

Sapporo Snow Festival

The Sapporo Snow Festival in Sapporo, Japan was first celebrated, in rather impromptu form, in 1950, when a group of local high school students got together to create some sculptures out of snow in a local park. A few years later, soldiers from a nearby base got in on the action, and from there the festival continued to grow and grow. Nowadays, hundreds of sculptures are built across three different festival sites, though one is able to look down on the entire festival from the town’s TV tower. The festival runs over the course of a week in February, and each year a different theme is chosen for the snow sculptures.

www.donolsonphotography.com

Saint Paul Winter Carnival

In 1885, a writer from the New York Times visiting Saint Paul, Minnesota wrote that the town was, “another Siberia, unfit for human habitation.” The good citizens of Saint Paul took this as a challenge, and a new festival was born. The Saint Paul Winter Carnival showcases the city at its coldest, still proving the point that not only does the city survive the winter, but it thrives. As part of the celebrations, a “royal family” is chosen each year in an elaborate set of ceremonies. Taking place each year during January, the Saint Paul Winter Carnival has been held continuously since the 1940s, when the festival took a break to honor the sacrifices of soldiers abroad.

drinkwiththewench.com

Whitefish Winter Carnival (Fiesta Pescado Blanco)

This winter festival, held annually in the small ski resort town of Whitefish, Montana, is without a doubt one of the wackiest on our list. The carnival has its own strange mythology involving an immigrant Nordic god who came to settle in Montana, royalty and prime ministers, and a group of mischievous Yetis who try to ruin the fun for everyone else. Meanwhile, there are parades, sporting events, and of course the infamous Penguin Plunge pictured above. Events like the Whitewish Winter Carnival showcase small-town America at its finest, and if you’re ever in Montana during the wintertime the carnival simply can’t be missed!

www.smartertravel.com

Fur Rendezvous

If you’re serious about your winter festivals, you’re going as far north as you can to really feel that cold weather. And when it comes to northerly winter festivals, you’re not going to get much closer to the North Pole itself than Anchorage, Alaska’s Fur Rendezvous–or “Fur Rondy,” for short. This ten-day celebration has been going on in one form or another since the 1930s, but today the festival is bigger and better than ever. Highlights of the festival include fur auctioneers selling fine wares caught by modern-day fur trappers and of course the Running of the Reindeer, pictured above. Stick around for the end of the festival and you’ll also be able to catch the start of the Iditorad.

thesun.co.uk

Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous

Just when you thought that Anchorage was the clear winner for the northernmost winter festival award, here comes another rendezvous with a serious challenge. Held annually in the Yukon, Canada town of Whitehorse, the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous is both a celebration of modern Yukon and a tribute to the seriously-tough men and women who first came to prospect gold in the area a few generations back. In order to do this, participants put the razors away for a few months–for men there is a beard-growing contest and for women–you guessed it–a hairiest-leg competition!

www.smartertravel.com

Fire and Ice Winter Fest

This truly one-of-a-kind winter festival takes full advantage of the natural gifts bestowed upon the small town of Lava Hot Springs, Idaho. As you might have guessed from the town’s name, Lava Hot Springs is a resort town popular for the naturally-warm water bubbling up from underground all over the area. As a study in contrasts, the Fire and Ice Winter Fest gives festival-goers the opportunity to alternatively freeze above ground and hop into the warm water to relax. The signature activity at the Fire and Ice Winter Fest is a tubing race down the Portneuf River, pictured above.

www.theguardian.com

Hwacheon Mountain Trout Ice Festival

You might not be able to tell from looking at the picture, but the mass of people above aren’t standing on dry land! You see, Hwacheon freezes over fast in the wintertime, and by the time the Mountain Trout Ice Festival rolls around this river’s ice is at least 16 inches thick. The South Korean government then releases some 30 tons of trout under the ice, and locals and visitors alike get to work. Participants cut holes in the ice and reach in to grab fish barehanded, a feat that takes a bit of luck considering one can only stand to keep his or her skin exposed at such cold temperatures for a few seconds at a time.

www.theskichannel.com

Dartmouth Winter Carnival

This collegiate event with over 100 years of proud history was of particular renown (or infamy) during the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, but is still held to this day. Back then, you see, Dartmouth was a men-only institution, and Winter Carnival was one of only a few times each year that women were invited to spend time on campus. Predictably, the Ivy League school got excited, and young women were brought to campus on bus and train alike for what was then known as “the Mardi Gras of the North.” While conducting “research” for a movie he was writing in the 1930s, F. Scott Fitzgerald became wildly drunk at a number of fraternity parties and was eventually fired from the project. Go figure.

zimbio.com

Steamboat Springs Winter Carnival

Each winter, the small town of Steamboat Springs comes alive in early February to celebrate the town’s serious pedigree in winter sports. Certain events draw pro-level athletes, such as the marksmanship biathlon, while others are more appropriate for festival-goers of all types–we’ll say the shovel race, for example. An icon of the festival, the United States’ oldest winter celebration west of the Mississippi River, is the “lighted man,” dressed up in an incredible battery-powered suit weighing over 70 pounds. If you’re impressed now, imagine how he must have looked in the 1930s!

lordelginhotel.ca

Winterlude

Ottawa, Canada’s annual Winterlude festival is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year. Over the course of three weekends, locals and tourists alike take to the streets (and canals!) of Ottawa to enjoy the festivities. These include culinary events, art crafted from both ice and packed snow, and, for the kids, Snowflake Kingdom–probably the coolest children’s attraction of any festival on our list. Winterlude is especially notable for the entirely frozen over Rideau Canal, which becomes for the duration of the festival the world’s largest naturally-frozen rink for skating. You can check it out right there in the image above.

panoramio.com

Mozart Week

Interested in a winter festival, but freezing while participating in outdoors activities not really doing it for you? Maybe this one will be more your speed. Each year in the picturesque town of Salzburg, Austria the celebration of Mozart Week takes place. A celebration of the composer himself’s January birthday, the town’s numerous musical venues open their doors to commemorate the genius music of one of history’s biggest names in classical composition. Even if you’re not the biggest Mozart fan, this is a great chance to see one of Europe’s most beautiful cities at perhaps its most beautiful time of year.

Menton Lemon Festival

Or perhaps, of course, you might wish to celebrate the wintertime by going someplace where it doesn’t feel much like winter at all! If this idea seems appealing to you, why not check out the Lemon Festival held each February in Menton, France? This Mediterranean town in the far eastern French Riviera celebrates the end of its “winter” each year with this bizarre festival. Each year a different theme is chosen, and massive works of art are crafted out of, of course, lemons. While you’re there, make sure to try some of the many beverages–and liquors–produced from the festival’s namesake as well.

Credit: http://www.traveltips4life.com/15-fun-winter-festivals-to-enjoy-this-season/15/