JANUARY
Polar Bear Jump Festival -- Seward.
Martin Luther King Day -- Statewide.
Anchorage Folk Festival -- Anchorage.
FEBRUARY
Tent City Festival -- Wrangell.
Celebrates the gold and timber history of this Inside Passage city.
Ice Worm Festival -- Cordova.
Fireworks, contests, music and art.
State Winter Carnival -- Willow.
Fireworks, outhouse race, sled-dog races, chain saw competition, fishing and arts and crafts.
Winter Ice Festival -- Seward.
Winter Carnival -- Homer.
Yukon Quest -- Fairbanks.
Hard sled-dog race to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, starts in downtown Fairbanks. (In 2005 it starts in Whitehorse and ends in Fairbanks.)
Iron Dog Snowmachine Race -- Fairbanks.
2,000-mile snowmobile race starts in Fairbanks and passes through Nome and Big Lake on its way to Wasilla.
Fur Rendezvous Festival -- Anchorage.
Sled dog races, carnival, art exhibits, fur auction, food.
Iditarod Days Festival -- Wasilla.
Cross-country ski races, snowshoe softball, ice fishing, arts and crafts and various other activities leading up to the Iditarod restart.
Winterfest -- Denali National Park.
Survival tips, snowshoe and ski trips into the park, food and music.
MARCH
World Ice Carving Championship -- Fairbanks.
Carvings are judged and left on display.
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race -- Anchorage, Wasilla to Nome.
Race has ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage and goes to Eagle River. The next day, the official start occurs in Wasilla. Parties and contests in Nome until the winner arrives.
Ice Classic Tripod Weekend -- Nenana.
River town near Fairbanks puts a tripod on the Tanana River in a contest to see when the ice will go out.
Tour of Anchorage -- Anchorage.
Cross-country ski marathon.
Limited North American Championship Sled Dog Race -- Fairbanks.
Chatanika Days -- Chatanika.
Gold-mining hamlet celebrates winter.
Spring equinox -- Statewide.
12 hours of daylight. Equinox is at 9:49 p.m. Alaska time.
Open North American Championship Sled Dog Race -- March 19-21 -- Fairbanks.
Pillar Mountain Golf Classic -- Kodiak.
Tournament to drive a golf ball up Pillar Mountain in the fewest strokes.
APRIL
International Curling Bonspiel -- Fairbanks.
Arctic Man Ski and Sno-Go Classic -- April 9-11 -- Paxson.
Skiers and machines combine in breakneck runs down a mountain.
Whalefest -- Kodiak.
Watch migrating whales.
Garnet Festival -- Wrangell.
The bald eagles gather at the Stikine River mouth.
Alaska Folk Festival -- Juneau.
Music and art.
Alyeska Resort Spring Carnival and Slush Cup -- Girdwood.
Resort town south of Anchorage begins its farewell to the ski season.
Native Youth Olympics -- Anchorage.
Youths from around the state compete in traditional games at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Old Harbor Whaling Festival -- Kodiak.
Celebrate one part of the island's maritime history.
OCTOBER
Hockey Classic -- Anchorage.
Four college teams meet in a tournament at Sullivan Arena.
Alaska Federation of Natives convention -- mid-October -- Anchorage.
Alaskans come from all corners of the state for week of meetings and shopping. Arts and crafts for sale.
Bald eagles gather -- All month -- Haines.
Thousands of eagles gather to eat as much as they can of the late run of chum salmon up the Chilkat River.
NOVEMBER
Alaska Bald Eagle Festival -- Haines.
Four thousand of eagles gather to eat as much as they can of the late run of chum. Eagles are present en masse from October through January.
Top of the World Classic -- Fairbanks.
Basketball tournament features college men's teams from around the country.
Great Alaska Shootout -- Anchorage.
Basketball tournament features college men's and women's teams from around the country.
DECEMBER
Talkeetna Winterfest -- Weekends -- Talkeetna.
Bachelor Society Ball, Wilderness Woman Contest, a parade and a tree-lighting ceremony.
Anchorage Film Festival -- early, mid-Dec. -- Anchorage.
Winter solstice -- Statewide.
Shortest daylight of the year. Solstice is at 3:42 a.m. Alaska time.
Julebukking -- Petersburg.
Merchants offer food and drink in appreciation of their customers.
Christmas -- Statewide.
