february 8 - 9, 2025
WiNTER FESTiVAL
One chilly weekend every February, the people of Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, don their red pointy hats as they celebrate the town's Scandinavian heritage.
All are welcome to join in this weekend-long family celebration of winter!
In Norway and Denmark, red pointy hats are worn by the nisse. In Sweden they’re worn by the tomte. In Mount Horeb, they’re worn by anyone who wants to join the fun of the Scandihoovian Winter Festival weekend.
Festival organizers like the playfulness of the hats and the bond they have come to represent. We’re here to celebrate our community and our heritage.
the story of the
RED HAT
Stop in at the Mount Horeb Welcome Center
SATURDAY EVENTS
Enter This One-of-a-Kind Fat Tire Bike Race!
2.5-mile, 5-mile, or 10-mile courses
Spectators are also welcome! Come enjoy a bloody mary at Norsk Golf Club's restaurant!
9:00am - Registration
10:00am - Race Begins
$30 Registration
BIKERS REGISTER HERE
(You can also register at the event.)
Norsk Golf Club
2755 Golf Bowl Rd
February 8, 2025
Enter This One-of-a-Kind Fat Tire Bike Race!
2.5-mile, 5-mile, or 10-mile courses
Spectators are also welcome! Come enjoy a bloody mary at Norsk Golf Club's restaurant!
9:00am - 12:00pm
$30 Registration
BIKERS REGISTER HERE
(You can also register at the event.)
Norsk Golf Club
2755 Golf Bowl Rd
SATURDAY EVENTS
February 8
This event requires snow, and so we are monitoring the weather. Please check back for updates.
9:00am - Registration
10:00am - Race Begins
From Snow to Art
Watch artists turns blocks of snow into magnificent sculptures!
Evangelical Lutheran Church Yard
315 E Main St
Free to enjoy!
Sculpting Starts at 10:00am
This event requires snow, and so we are monitoring the weather. Please check back for updates.
Learn How to Make Krumkake & Waffles on a Stick!
You might even get a taste!
Presented By:
Sons of Norway Vennelag 513
Driftless Historium
Starts at 10:00am
Location:
Driftless Historium
100 S Second St, Mount Horeb
Free for the whole family!
Learn How to Make Lefse!
You might even get a taste!
Presented By:
Mount Horeb Lion's Club
Driftless Historium
Starts at 2:00pm
So you think you've got what it takes?
Match wits with other great spellers in this friendly grown-up competition.
Competition Starts at 1:00pm
Martinson Hall at Buck & Honey's
108 S Second St, Mount Horeb
$15 to Compete | Free to Watch
Martinson Hall at Buck & Honey's
108 S Second St, Mount Horeb
$15 to Compete | Free to Watch
(Suggested donation of $2 per person for audience members. Donations benefit the Mount Horeb Area Chamber of Commerce.)
(You can also register on the day of the event.)
Test your skills on the ice at this wildly popular Scandihoovian event!
Bowl with a frozen turkey - yes, you heard that right - a frozen turkey!
Garfield Park Ice Rink
101 E Garfield St
Free for the whole family!
Free Event
Garfield Park Ice Rink
101 E Garfield St
Free for the whole family!
Free Event
Competition Starts at 4:00pm
This event requires snow, and so we are monitoring the weather. Please check back for updates.
This event requires snow, and so we are monitoring the weather. Please check back for updates.
(Suggested donation of $2 per participant. Donations benefit the Mount Horeb Area Chamber of Commerce.)
LODGiNG
more scandi events
RED HAT SPECiALS
SCANDiHOOViAN
Plan Your
Weekend
Rather than a winter version of a summer carnival, festival founders had a different kind of idea. They believed a variety of unique events would get people out of their homes to meet and talk to their neighbors, to welcome visitors and, as a bonus, make people way less cranky.
Creative Mount Horeb residents made some inspired choices for indoor and outdoor events and activities -- a spelling bee for adults, broom ball on nearby Stewart Lake, frozen turkey bowling at the local skating rink, a fat tire bike race, Norwegian fiddlers, and many more. Ideas came from throughout the community and a village-wide festival was born. The festival even has its own signature wardrobe item - the red hat that celebrates the area's Scandinavian heritage.
So don a red hat, find an event - or several - and enjoy winter the Scandihoovian way.
No crankiness allowed.
FESTIVAL HISTORY
FESTiVAL HiSTORY
Sometime in 2011, local merchants and citizens noticed a familiar pattern that always emerged after the holidays -- people got cranky. Determined to do something about it, someone in that bunch uttered five fateful words: "We should have a festival."
SCANDiHOOViAN
in the News
the experience
connect
with us
VIP
$45 pre-order, $50 at the gate
