Most events are free, some require a fee and they play out at sites around the city.
An entry in the cake contest at Holyoke's 2012 winter carnival.
HOLYOKE -- The Holyoke Winter Carnival will begin its three-day run March 1 with a nighttime display of 1,000 candles in bags of sand leading up to the Community Field ice skating rink.
At sites around the city, the carnival will include free and paid events like a dog show, firefighters' benefit hockey game, chili and cake-decorating contests and a "noticing nature" walk in the woods at Mount Tom.
"Our theme this year is winter fun from mountain to the river’s edge," organizer Ken Johnston said.
The schedule is available at holyokewintercarnival.org
A pre-carnival service will be held Feb. 24 at 10 a.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 485 Appleton St.
"The Holyoke Winter Carnival has always believed that involving the faith community in the planning of the Winter Carnival was essential to reaching out to all residents of Holyoke," according to statement on the carnival website.
The arrangement of candles set in sand inside paper bags is known as a luminaria, a traditional Mexican Christmas lantern. The placement of the lanterns is set to begin at 6 p.m. on Cherry Street leading up to Community Field.
That's free, as is the dog show, "Hot Dogs On a Cold Winter Day," which will be March 2 from 1 to 3 at Holyoke High School, 500 Beech St.
Holyoke firefighters will play their Chicopee counterparts in the "Battle of the Bridge" hockey game to raise money to buy helmets for Holyoke Youth Football March 3 at 1 p.m. at Fitzpatrick Ice Arena, 575 Maple St. The game is free but firefighters will pass around an empty boot to collect money for the football helmets.