In climates with cold winters, the months after the Holiday Season can seem long indeed: just the time for celebrations to warm up the cold months.
The Quebec Winter Carnival gets top billing below as the biggest bash, but plenty of other towns have winter carnivals in January, February, or early March.
Quebec City Winter Carnival
Quebec City is a charming town; and you'll feel like you've taken a mini-trip to Europe. And arguably the best time to visit is during the cold winter, when -- for two weeks-- the city celebrates the Quebec Carnival. Lots of fun for kids; and don't miss the giant toboggan slide not far from the Carnival grounds. (No worries, by the way, if you speak only English.) Bonus in 2008: Quebec City celebrates its 400th anniversary.
More Winter Carnivals in Canada
No surprise that the "Great White North" has plenty of winter carnivals: Winterfest in Halifax, Toronto, and Calgary; Winterlude in Ottawa, to name just a few.
VT: Stowe Winter Carnival
Mid to late January's the time to head to Stowe Vermont, for ice carving competitions, Kids Carnival Kaos, SnowVolleyball Tournament, "infamous" block party on Main St., and more. Stowe is the second-largest town in Vermont, with quaint New England architecture, downhill ski area, x-country skiing, and family-friendly inns.
NY: Snowfest at Cooperstown NY
Mid-February's the time for this festive weekend in Cooperstown in upstate NY, and a highlight is the NY State Snow Sculpting Championship, a 72-hour sculpting marathon at Lake Front Park: visitors can vote for the "People's Choice Award." Admission's free; other activities around the town include sledding, ice-skating, x-country skiing, and more. Historic Cooperstown is billed as "America's most perfect village"; families like the National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum, and the classy but family-friendly Otesaga Resort Hotel.
NY: Lake George Winter Carnival
Lake George is a popular four-season recreation area in the Adirondacks. Winter Carnival kicks off with a big New Year's Day Polar Plunge Swim (over 860 people in 2007.) Events continue on February weekends, with kids activities, snowmobile sleigh rides, Polar Golf, ice diving demos, lots more.
MN: Saint Paul Winter Carnival
"The Coolest Celebration on Earth"-- held in late Jan./early Feb.-- dates back to 1886, when Saint Paul wanted to show up a NY Times reporter who called the city a "Siberia, unfit for human habitation in the winter." An awesome Ice Palace was built then, and 35 times since. The Winter Carnival now gets 350,000 visitors; 2008 fun includes Figure Skating Championships, Torchlight Parade, ice maze, dog sled rally, Hot Dish Tent, and more.
ID: McCall Winter Carnival
Dating back to 1924, this winter carnival in McCall Idaho has snow sculptures, snowshoe golf tournament, monster dog pull, winter sports competitions, Mardi Gras Grande Parade, the beard growing contest... McCall is a four-seasons recreation town with nickname "Ski Town USA".
CO: Steamboat Family Snow Festival
Winter Carnivals aren't the only kind of cold-weather festivities. Steamboat Colorado is a top ski resorts for families, and has an annual Family Snow Festival in January.
CA: Lake Tahoe Snowfest
Ten days of fun at the beginning of March, with multiple venues, opening night fireworks, Snow Fest Queen, Big Air contest, pancake breakfast, Snowfest! (and more) parades, polar bear swim, giant tricyle race, and much much more.
See lots more [link url=http://www.carnaval.com/winter/canadian.html]Winter Carnivals in New England, Western USA, Europe, Canada.
