Almost all of the Winter Carnival events are designed to be family friendly. Here are our top 10 picks for things to check out with kids. Also note that Metro Transit is offering free bus rides on both carnival weekends to downtown St. Paul.

1. Moon Glow Pedestrian Parade: Want to be in a parade? Here’s your chance. Walk with Winter Carnival organizers, local leaders and neighbors in this pedestrian procession. Bring candles or flashlights. Gather at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, at 410 N. Robert St. The procession will follow Fourth Street to Rice Park, where paraders will be greeted with fiery ice sculptures and 20-foot flames shooting out of hot-air balloon baskets.

2. Ice carving: The finished ice sculptures are dazzling, but kids might be even more interested in watching them take shape. Teams in the multiblock contest start carving in Rice Park at 9 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, and often work through the night to wrap up for judging Saturday morning, Jan. 26. The one-day single-block competition starts at 9 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 27, and ends at 3 p.m. Sculptures stay up — weather permitting — for the duration of the carnival.

3. Ice skating: Twirl in the shadow of Landmark Center on the Wells Fargo WinterSkate rink. Even on balmy days, the refrigerated oval stays frozen. Open skate hours vary, but are generally 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays. Skating is free, and skate rental is $2 or free if you show a Wells Fargo credit/check card (wellsfargowinter skate.com).

4. Snow sculptures: The snow-sculpting competition was a fiasco last year due to warm weather and a lack of snow, but organizers are ready this year. Snow-making machines started whirring last week, ensuring there will be enough white stuff. Competitors mold and chisel 8-by-8-foot blocks of packed snow into detailed sculptures, such as a life-sized bear driving a car. Sculpting starts Friday, Jan. 25, and continues until judging on Sunday, Jan. 27. The sculptures are on view from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. through Sunday, Feb. 3. Red-caped Vulcans offer firetruck rides and family activities from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 27. The snow fun is at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, 1265 N. Snelling Ave., on “Machinery Hill” (mnsnowpark.com).

5. Grande Day Parade: King Boreas leads carnival royalty, marching bands, floats and the bouncing girls in the Grande Day Parade. It gets rolling at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26, at the High Bridge and follows West Seventh Street to Rice Park. After the parade, head to the St. Paul Hotel, which will serve hot cocoa in the lobby for 75 cents.

6. Landmark Kids Day: After the Grande Day Parade, check out family activities in Landmark Center from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26. There will be an indoor bouncy house, games and free face painting from the Minnesota RollerGirls. Head back to Landmark on Saturday, Feb. 2, for Family Day, featuring more entertainment and games from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

7. Winter Carnival geocaching: Download a free GPS app or grab your Garmin and track down containers hidden in parks around St. Paul. Each “cache” can be found by following GPS coordinates. Find all 10 and you get entered in a drawing. Entry forms and coordinates are available beginning Saturday, Jan. 26, at the carnival button sales booth in Rice Park or at the carnival office in Landmark Center, 75 W. Fifth St.

6. Sled dog racing: Dog mushers will urge teams of two to 10 dogs down the track at races sponsored by the North Star Sled Dog Club. There also will be skijoring races, in which dogs pull someone on skis. Leave your own dog at home, please. Races are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 27, on Bald Eagle Lake, 5800 Hugo Road, White Bear Township. This event will be canceled if there isn’t enough snow. Check for updates at wintercarnivalsleddograce.com.

8. Art by kids: St. Paul elementary- and middle-school students have contributed artwork for what’s become the annual St. Paul Winter Carnival Children’s Art Show at AZ Gallery, 308 Prince St. A reception is planned for 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 25. Check it out, and then slip next door for hot cocoa at the Black Dog Cafe and a look at the juried show of art by grown-ups.

9. Autonomous snowplow competition: Why shovel snow when you can program a robot to plow? Ten teams of college engineering students compete in the third annual robotic snowplow competition for the $5,000 top prize. These rolling machines, with names like Albino Bison and Blizzard Buster II, use sensors, lasers, GPS and other tech tricks to push snow in a straight line and around corners. The robots will be rolling from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26, and 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 27 in Rice Park (autosnowplow.com).

10. The Torchlight Parade: Start saying farewell to the carnival at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, as the Vulcan Victory Torchlight Parade marches up Fifth Street from Lowertown to Rice Park. Then watch the Vulcan Krewe stage the annual overthrow of King Boreas on the steps of the St. Paul Public Library, 90 W. Fourth St. Fireworks, launched from Raspberry Island, wrap up the show.

Maja Beckstrom can be reached at 651-228-5295.

Copyright 2013 Pioneer Press.