Winterfest

North Country types know how to do the cold: There’s a joke that the Adirondacks have two seasons, winter and the Fourth of July. While the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival is the area’s longest running (and the longest-running in the eastern U.S.), Carthage’s entry is building some history, too - it turned 16 in 2014. The highlight is the cardboard-sled races, in which competitors build their (non) trustworthy vehicles using only cardboard, tape, paper and glue. No wood, no metal, no plastic, no glass. The sleds aren’t built to last, but the memories will.