It hasn’t really felt like winter this year. Some might even say we haven’t suffered quite enough to deserve a Winter Carnival, that we haven’t earned a festive break in the bleak winter season.

We say, bring it on. Here are nine ways to enjoy the carnival with kids:

1. Ice Carving: Watch intricate, sparkling sculptures emerge from blocks of ice in Rice Park. Teams in the multiblock contest start at 9 a.m. on Jan. 26 and finish for judging the morning of Jan. 28. The one-day single-block competition is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 29. Sculptures are on display in the park through Feb. 5. Dusk is a magical time to visit, when everything twinkles in the floodlights.

2. Ice Skating: Twirl under the towers of Landmark Center on the Wells Fargo WinterSkate rink. Even if we get balmy days, the refrigerated oval will stay frozen. Open skate hours vary by day, but the rink is generally open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with longer hours on weekends. Skating is free, and skate rental is $2 (free if you show a Wells Fargo credit/check card). Fifth and Washington streets, just outside of Landmark Center; wellsfargowinterskate.com.

3. Moon Glow Pedestrian Parade: Participate in the official start to the carnival and join festival organizers, local leaders and your neighbors in the Moon Glow Pedestrian Parade starting at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 26. Walk with candles or flashlights from the St. Paul Chamber offices at 401 Robert St. to Rice Park, where there will be tethered hot-air balloons.

4. Winter Carnival Geocaching: This is a treasure hunt everyone can win. Download a free GPS app from the iTunes store or grab your Garmin and track down containers hidden in parks around St. Paul. Each “cache” can be found by following the GPS coordinates. Find all 10 by 5 p.m. on Feb. 5 and enter a drawing for a prize. Entry forms and coordinates are available beginning Jan. 28 at the Winter Carnival button sales booth in Rice Park or at the carnival office, Room 429, Landmark Center, 75 W. Fifth St.

5. Landmark Kids Day: After all the outdoor fun, warm up indoors during Kids Day from 2 to 4 p.m. Jan. 29 at Landmark Center. There will be games, face painting, a bounce house and treats. Across the street in Rice Park, kids can enjoy a snow snake competition, styled after games played by the Dakota and Ojibwa tribes of Minnesota. Head back to Landmark from 9 to 5 p.m. on Feb. 4 for Family Day, which includes performances by local dance and music groups.

6. King Boreas Grande Day Parade: King Boreas leads the parade down a new route. Carnival royalty, floats and marching bands start at 2 p.m. Jan. 28 at the high Bridge and proceed down West Seventh Street to Rice Park, where the St. Paul Hotel will welcome revelers with hot chocolate.

7. Art by kids: St. Paul elementary and middle-school students have contributed artwork for the annual St. Paul Winter Carnival Children’s Art Show at AZ Gallery, 308 Prince St. A reception is planned 5 to 8 p.m. Jan. 28. Check it out, then slip next door for hot cocoa at the Black Dog Cafe and a look at the juried show of art by grown-ups.

8. Autonomous Snowplows: Why shovel when you can program your own robotic snowplow? Engineering students from six colleges and universities will compete in the second annual autonomous snowplow competition. These rolling plows use sensors, lasers, GPS and other tech tricks to push snow in a straight line and around a corner. The event, sponsored by the Institute of Navigation, starts at 8 a.m. Jan. 28 and 9 a.m. Jan. 29 in Rice Park.

9. Vulcan Victory Torchlight Parade: Say farewell to the Winter Carnival starting at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 4 as the Vulcan Victory Torchlight Parade marches up Fifth Street from Wacouta Street in 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 wind up the show, launched from Raspberry Island.

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

Copyright 2012 Pioneer Press.