February is carnival month, and the highlight is said to be Mardi Gras in New Orleans or the carnivals in Rio de Janeiro and Venice. But if you ask us, it's Wilhelmina Winter Week, or WWW as it's called here.
It's perhaps not a carnival; it's more of a festive week in the middle of winter's darkest gloom. During this week, we Vilhelmina residents fill ourselves with everything from weddings and baptisms to heavy music and late-night parties, and in between, we fit in fishing competitions with light shows, ice sculptures, art exhibitions, a weaving workshop, and genealogy research - and yes, everything you can think of!
Ice and snow are a recurring theme, and in our little town, we have for many years harvested ice for what then becomes an ice church and also posts for the somewhat famous competition Ice Post Sitting, yes, you read that right - you can compete in who can sit the longest on a rather high post made of ice.
This is what our weekend has looked like.
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Answer: February 8th to 16th
Answer: Most events are organized in Vilhelmina city center
Answer: Most events are completely open; you just have to come to the place at the right time to participate. Some events require entrance fees or pre-registration; this applies to competitions and certain other events. See the program for more information on when pre-registration or tickets are required.