We’re not saying ice sculptures are all the way out, but giant outhouses attached to skis are definitely in. When the temperature drops, cabin fever sets in and the fun heats up at these quirky winter festivals across the South.
Brevard, North Carolina
February 2
While everyone else is watching groundhogs, residents of Brevard stare with bated breath at a small white rodent known as Pisgah Penny. In a swift movement to the left or the right, the squirrel predicts the winter weather. But Penny goes a step beyond her prognosticating counterparts when she also predicts the winner of the Super Bowl. Penny, who assumed forecasting duties several years ago from her late uncle Pete, takes the stage annually at a local community center, where visitors can mingle with fellow white-squirrel lovers while they await their potentially frigid fate.
Sapphire, North Carolina
February 15
This North Carolina showdown brings new meaning to the term Porta Potti. Up in the snowy slopes of Ski Sapphire Valley, riders perched in privies glide down the mountain. Teams of three push and steer the homemade outhouses, which are attached to skis, and visitors get to take in all the action from the sidelines (and enjoy food, drinks, and music).
George Washington’s Bathtub Celebration
Berkeley Springs, West Virginia
March 1-31
Visitors to West Virginia can enjoy the winter the way a teenage George Washington used to roughly 275 years ago: by taking a dip in warm springs. The annual George Washington’s Bathtub Celebration is extending its usual weekend festivities to the entire month of March, inviting visitors to wade in the roughly 74-degree natural mineral spring water.
Louisville, Kentucky
March 1
Judges at The Gravy Cup.
Everything’s good as gravy at this Kentucky festival where thirty amateur and professional chefs go head to head to make their best rendition of the sauce in traditional, nontraditional, and vegetarian categories. Visitors can warm themselves up from the inside out as they taste and rank their favorite gravies. And of course, no gravy would be complete without an accompanying biscuit, which festivalgoers can pair with the gravies of champions.
World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Hot Springs, Arkansas
March 17
Parade patrons dress as leprechauns for the festivities.
When the Guinness overfloweth, residents of and visitors to Hot Springs take a break to walk 0.01 miles in the World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Since its inception in 2004, the parade has attracted tens of thousands of visitors, hundreds of Elvis impersonators, and dozens of celebrities. Each year, a celebrity host kicks off the parade: This year, as his own iconic clock ticks, so does the countdown for Flavor Flav to grace the streets of Hot Springs for the 2025 festivities.
Tampa, Florida
January 25
Even though Florida isn’t known for its chilly winter temps, Floridians love a reason to celebrate. In January, a parade of pirates known as Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla (named after infamous pirate Jose Gaspar, who supposedly left a treasure along Florida’s west coast in the eighteenth century) sails into downtown Tampa. With their grand entrance, the Sunshine State’s favorite scallywags kick off a day of music, food, and partying like a pirate (hopefully minus the scurvy).
Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia
March 1
The Hardman Farm State Historic Site.
As winter shows its first signs of appearing, cows at the Hardman Farm State Historic Site move to other pastures so the farm can undergo maintenance. But when frosts begin to dissipate, visitors reconvene at the North Georgia farm to enjoy a day of festivities. The cows, too, trek back to their home pastures but pay no mind to the music and fun. Instead, like all of us, they’re just happy to once again bask in the emerging sun.
