AMHERST — Amherst’s annual WinterFest, dubbed by organizers as eight days of frosty fun, starts Saturday.
“WinterFest is more than just a series of events — it is a warm invitation for neighbors to step out of the winter chill and into the warmth of a shared community experience,” Becky Demling, outreach director for Amherst Recreation, said in a statement.
The main event for the week, which also serves as the grand finale, is the sixth annual Fire & Ice Festival and Luminaria, taking place on the Town Common Feb. 21 from 3 to 7 p.m. and put on by both Amherst Recreation and the Amherst Business Improvement District.
There, the snow-covered greenscape will have the luminaria display and be filled with ice sculptures and live entertainment, with hot cocoa and s’mores prepared over fire pits and crafts activities.
Children that afternoon can explore an Amherst fire truck, meet and greet Sparky the Fire Dog, watch MATICA Circus fire performers and see a metal sculpture demonstration by Kamil Peters and a wood carving demonstration by Cody Stosz of Kodiak Carving.
With Valentine’s Day the first day of WinterFest, as well as the start of school vacation for the public schools, one of the kickoff events is the “Love is in the Air Family Dance Party.”
That event, with music, crafts and snacks for children and families, takes place at The Center Dance, 321 Main St., from 3 to 4:30 p.m.
Community Days at Amherst College will feature athletic contests both Saturday at 3 p.m., with a women’s basketball game, and Feb. 20 at 7 p.m., with a men’s hockey game. In addition to free admission, there will free food and special giveaways.
Feb. 19 from 1 to 4 p.m. will be the Chess Festival at Cherry Hill Golf Course Clubhouse on Montague Road. Staff from the Jones Library Kids Room and chess instructor Andy Morris-Friedman will oversee an afternoon of round-robin chess play, brain games and activities inspired by chess. For children ages 7 and up, registration can be done by sending email to kids@joneslibrary.org.
The library and branches will also be open for programs like Sing with Your Baby and Dungeons & Dragons, Pokémon activities and teen lounge. Other educational programs, like Little Bear Nature Walks, will be put on by the Hitchcock Center for the Environment and “Ice Age Creatures and More” will be at the Beneski Museum of Natural History.
There will also be three open swims at the Amherst Regional Middle School pool, daily public ice skating at the Mullins Center Community Ice Rink and cross-country skiing at Cherry Hill.
Valentine’s Day crafts will be at UMass Downtown, gnome and snowflake creations will be at The Mill District General Store & Local Art Gallery, and original music stories by Tiny Tuttie will be at Munson Memorial Library.
The full schedule of events, along with registration details, is at www.amherstma.gov/WinterFest2026, with more information at www.facebook.com/WinterFestAmherst
