February Festival

Feb. 8, 2015

The first day of spring is only about six weeks away, but there’s still a whole lot of winter fun to be had around northern Michigan! Check out these February winter festivals that’ll have you dining, bowling, skating, dating and more.

SLEDS N’ SHOPS

At the Petoskey Winter Carnival

Feb. 12-15

www.petoskeydowntown.com

Feb. 14 is the big day for Petoskey’s winter affair, with most of the action centered in Ptown’s Winter Sports Park. Speedskating demos, figure skating performances, Curling for a Cause, the Char-EM Division III hockey game and Date & Skate all center around the ice rink, while sledding hill activities include the Bump Jump competition and the Cardboard Sled Challenge. The other two festival days offer indoor, as well as outdoor, activities, including a Wine and Dine progressive dinner on Thursday, Ghost Walk and Chocoholic Frolic on Friday and retail therapy all four days.

SWEET PURSUITS

At Chocolate-Covered Boyne

Feb. 13-14

www.boynechamber.com

The highly-anticipated Valentine’s Day concert at Freshwater Gallery on Feb. 14 is only one element of this 8th annual Boyne City fest, a lively celebration of all things chocolate and romance. Over 30 businesses participate, meaning you’ll be greeted with chocolate at every turn. Highlights include truffle samples from Alpine Chocolate Haus, "Blind Date with a Book" at the Boyne District Library, special chocolate desserts at Cafe Sante and Red Mesa, and chocolate facials at Fiji Salon – all leading up to the Saturday night concert when music will make the event even sweeter.

RUSTIC FUN

At Beulah’s Winterfest

Feb. 14

www.visitbenzie.com

Always held the second weekend in February, Beulah’s ode to winter is a down-home endeavor with lots of family fun and smalltown appeal. A chili cook-off, horse-drawn wagon rides, snowmobile runs and, of course, lots of refreshments are the order of the day. But, some of the favorite events are actually the quirkiest. Where else can you go frozen turkey bowling, watch an outhouse sprint race or compete in a fish toss? It’s all crowned at the end of the day with Beulah’s famed winter fireworks majestically reflected in the icy waters of Crystal Lake.

ARTISTIC ADVENTURES

At Interlochen’s Winterlochen

Feb. 21

http://tickets.interlochen.org

Brought to you by Interlochen Arts Academy and the Interlochen Chamber of Commerce, Winterlochen features both outdoor and indoor events. The town’s best-known destination offers a plethora of free (and excellent) musical performances from the accomplished students at the Arts Academy, plus a return of the popular theater, poetry and dance demonstrations. One of this year’s highlights is sure to be the Sing-A-Long Frozen event at 1:30pm in Corson Auditorium, filling the Interlochen campus with those familiar refrains.

GAMES IN THE SNOW

At Northport’s Carnival

Feb. 28

www.northportomenachamber.org

The annual Northport Omena Chamber of Commerce Winter Carnival will return February 28. The carnival includes milk jug curling, broomball, a chili contest, cardboard sled races, and several new activities, including a snowshoe poker run and a family air mattress sled race. A scavenger hunt begins on February 14 and will end on the day of the carnival. Players can collect all six treasures for a chance to win. The carnival takes place from 11am to 4pm at the Braman Hill Recreation Area in Northport. Hot dogs and hot chocolate will be available as long as supplies last.