What’s new at the Winter Carnival?

SANDPOINT — For the 52nd edition of the Sandpoint Winter Carnival, fresh events including a post-parade party, a Valentine’s dinner date night and a collection of entertaining fundraisers are set to swing into town.

The new attractions will join traditions like Eichardt’s K9 Keg Pull and Schweitzer’s fireworks to comprise the weeklong festival organized by the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce and carried out each year by local businesses.

“We're like the cheerleaders,” chamber executive director Mickey Quinn said. “We're the facilitator that gathers the information and encourages our local businesses to participate.” 

Participation is up, according to Quinn, for the carnival’s opening parade of lights, which makes a circuit of downtown Sandpoint at 5:30 p.m., Feb. 14. 

“The number of participants we have in this parade is twice as many as we had last year,” Quinn said. 

After the parade, a downtown block party will return after a hiatus last year to Third Avenue between Cedar and Main streets. Pend d’Oreille Winery and the Festival at Sandpoint will host; the event will feature music and wintery snacks and beverages. 

The cooccurrence of the carnival’s launch and Valentine’s Day created new opportunities for the chamber and businesses, Quinn said. The overarching theme of the carnival is “romancing the snow,” and new this year, Marigold Bistro will open in the evening and host a special dinner with a unique menu Feb. 14. 

Entertainment events including music, magic and movies will span the week, and a collection of Feb. 16 fundraisers will offer entertainment with an opportunity to support a worthy cause. 

At 2 p.m., Music Conservatory of Sandpoint faculty will perform classical works in a tea time serenade to benefit students; a 6 p.m. bachelor and bachelorette auction at the Umpqua Bank building will raise funds for Miss Sandpoint USA’s trip to the Miss USA pageant; and a 7 p.m. showing of international wildlife films at The Hive will fund area students as they prepare to do marine restoration work in the Dominican Republic this summer. 

The goal of assembling a week of events and attractions, Quinn said, is to give residents a reason to kick their cabin fever for a while and get out with their neighbors in the heart of winter. 

“Anything where you can get the kids involved and give people an opportunity to do something other than sit around inside the house, I think is a great thing,” Quinn said. 

“We hunker down, we hibernate a little bit, but this gives us that social interaction that we all crave, and we all need,” Quinn said. “It's just great to be able to get out and see people.” 

A complete list of events is available at sandpointwintercarnival.com.