16 February Festivals to Attend in Wisconsin

By the time February rolls around, Wisconsin has already endured a couple months of winter. Hibernate? Nah. Celebrate? Of course. Here are some of Wisconsin’s best February festivals:

1. Winterfest (Lake Geneva)
   Vote on snow sculptures at the U.S. Snow Sculpting Championship and enjoy music, food, helicopter rides and family entertainment. (Feb. 1-5)
2. Hot Air Affair (Hudson)
   
   

   [Photo by @midmnphotography, Instagram]

   
   A festival full of fireworks, a torchlight parade, a craft fair, smoosh boarding, balloon launches and evening moon glows. (Feb. 3-5)
3. Winter Festival (Fish Creek)
   It’s hard to find a festival more unique than one that involves a toilet-seat throw, pie tin toss, bean-bag cannon shoot, smoosh racing and an ugly-sweater contest. Attending this Door County celebration also involves trolley rides, ice carving, a fiddle contest, a snowshoe dance and fireworks. (Feb. 3-5)
4. Iola Winter Carnival (Iola)
   Head to central Wisconsin for this village festival, offering ice carving, a lutefisk dinner, ski jumping and a ski and showshoe race. (Feb. 3-5)
5. Scandihoovian Winter Festival (Mount Horeb)
   There will be a snowman-building contest, turkey bowling, kick sledding, a spelling bee and a vintage snowmobile show and ride. (Feb. 3-5)
6. Apostle Islands Sled Dog Race (Bayfield)
   
   

   [Photo by @esmemartinson, Instagram]

   
   Enjoy some skiing and snowshoeing in between watching four sled dog races. (Feb. 4-5)
7. Knickerbocker Ice Festival (Lake Mills)
   Winter festivities galore, including a fish toss, a snowball-eating contest, dog-sled race, chili cook-off, Iceberg Open golf tournament, ice carving and ice wine. (Feb. 4)
8. Frozen Tozen Winter Fest (Boulder Junction)
   This northern Wisconsin town features turkey bowling, ice golf, snowshoe races and ice fishing. (Feb. 17-18)
9. Fun on the Frozen Flambeau (Tony)
   Food, drinks, music, corn hole, snowshoe races, a snow sculpting contest, snow painting, ice golf, geocache discovery, fireworks, a fishing contest, and did I mention $20,000 in prizes? (Feb. 17-19)
10. Madison Winter Festival (Madison)
    
    

    [Photo by @atwoga, Instagram]

    
    While this festival goes on each year, it will be moving from Capitol Square to Elver Park, but still involves cross-country skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, music, ice and snow sculptures and family games. (Feb. 18-19)
11. Book Across the Bay (Ashland/Washburn)
    
    

    [Photo by @rozyboom, Instagram]

    
    Snowshoe or ski across Chequamegon Bay along a 10k route lined by luminaries, and enjoy a fireworks show as you approach Washburn. Finish the night with a bonfire, chili feed and blues music. (Feb 18)
12. Winter Festival (Cedarburg)
    Join in on the 43^rd Cedarburg Winter Festival, which features bed and barrel races, a snow battle, camel rides, ice-carving a dog weight pull competition and a parade. (Feb. 18-19)
13. Barstool Races (Drummond)
    Nothin’ like a small town celebration where you can watch people slide down a hill on decorated bar stools and enjoy a chili feed afterward. (Feb 18)
14. Northwoods Blizzard Blast (Conover)
    This northern Wisconsin festival offers horse-drawn sleigh rides, ice bowling, dog sled dashing and snow sculpting, and where else can you find recliner racing and snowshoe baseball? (Feb 18)
15. American Birkebeiner (Hayward)
    
    

    [Photo by @americanbirkebeiner, Instagram]

    
    You can’t miss the “Greatest Show on Snow”, which features races of all distances and for all ages, as well as a showshoe hike, a ski expo and a 51-kilometer marathon with the world’s best skiers. (Feb. 23-26)
16. Bockfest at Capital Brewery (Middleton)
    The Madison-area brewery festival involves a fish throw, music, costumes, the Running of the Blondes 1K race. And beer. Can’t forget the beer. (Feb. 25)

 
Which winter festivals are penciled in on your calendar? Share with us on social media using #DiscoverWisconsin.

Kristen Finstad is a member of the Discover Wisconsin crew. Having grown up in River Falls, attending UW-Stevens Point and now living in Madison, she’s a Wisconsin girl through and through. Watch Discover Wisconsin TV Saturday mornings at 10 on Fox Sports Wisconsin. (Twitter: @DiscoverWI)