Movie tour
MONTEREY, CALIF.
Ongoing
Monterey native Doug Lumsden is a film buff who started the ''Monterey Movie Tours" in June for his five-year-old company, Monterey Bay Scenic Tours. The three-hour, 32-mile loop covers sites from a selection of 200 scenes or films shot on location in Monterey Peninsula. Adding a twist, Lumsden screens the scenes that match the sites on video screens on board the 32-passenger bus. Among the films he covers are Clint Eastwood's ''Play Misty for Me," ''A Summer Place," ''Turner & Hooch," ''National Velvet," and ''Clash by Night." For ''Clash," he unreels the scene of Marilyn Monroe as a Cannery Row worker. ''With that clip, visitors get a feel for what it was like in a canning factory in the sardine capital of the world," said Lumsden. Another stop is a Pacific Grove mansion looking exactly like the Pine Island Inn, its role in ''A Summer Place." Reservations are required for the tours.
Monterey Conference Center, Del Monte Avenue. 800-343-6437. www.montereymovietours.com for schedule, fees.
Carnival
ORANJESTAD, ARUBA
Jan. 3-Feb. 25
This Caribbean island celebrates a half-century of ''Carnival," a.k.a. Carnaval, with two months of colorful traditions. The Torch Parade ignites the season on Jan. 3 with extravagant handcrafted costumes and floats, contests, and street parties known as ''jump-ups." Among the other highlights are children's parades; calypso, road march, and tumba music contests; the Feb. 14 Aruba Tivoli Lighting Parade in the capital city of Oranjestad; and the Feb. 21 Jouvert Morning in San Nicolas. This is one of the largest jump-ups and begins at 4 a.m. in the streets of the old town. The festive finale event is Grand Carnival Parade on Feb. 22, the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. On Feb. 24, the ''Burning of King Momo" signals the end of Carnival for another year.
Various locations. 800-TO-ARUBA. www.arubascarnaval.com; www.aruba.com.
Snowmobile races
EAGLE RIVER, WIS.
Jan. 10-18
Snowmobilers are revving their engines for the 41st annual World Championship Snowmobile Derby in northern Wisconsin. Eagle River is a natural location because the snowmobile was invented just 25 miles away in Sayner. Last year's races drew 30,000 spectators (some of whom purchased heated seats in advance) to cheer the speedsters circling the half-mile Derby Track in various competitions. One of the most popular events is the opening weekend's celebration of vintage models from the 1960s and '70s. On Monday and Tuesday, fans can test their mettle on the track or take guided snowmobile tours of the area. The premier event matches contemporary racers with a lineup of international drivers beginning with sessions on Wednesday.
Highway 45 North. 715-479-4424. www.derbytrack.com for schedule.
Icewine festival
NIAGARA REGION, ONTARIO
Jan. 16-25
Quebec and Alaska have ice hotels. Finland has an ice theater. Now the Niagara region gets an ice bar. A 20-foot block of ice is carved into a streetside Canada Ice Bar where bartenders pour icewine on the two weekends of the 9th annual Niagara Icewine Festival. On the afternoon of Jan. 17-18, the bar anchors the festival scene in the village of Jordan; the following weekend it moves to Niagara-on-the-Lake's Queen Street. Along with 20 wineries pouring their 2003 icewine vintage, there are food tastings and live entertainment. Among other activities during the 10-day festival are winery tours, ''Images of Winter" food and wine tasting gala, and a winemakers' dinner. And, if the weather gets cold enough, hearty visitors can help pick the frozen grapes that become the 2004 icewine.
Various locations. 905-688-0212. www.niagarawinefestival.com.
Sled dog race
JACKSON, WYO.
Jan. 23-30
The ''International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race, Western Wyoming" name is almost as long as the race. It was founded nine years ago by Frank Teasley, a onetime racer in Alaska's famous Iditarod, who wanted to show off the beauty of Wyoming and make the race dog- and spectator-friendly. Unlike most races where the mushers and dog teams stay on a course round-the-clock, this one stops each night in a different town. The 350-mile race begins on Jan. 24 in Jackson Hole and ends there on Jan. 30. The festivities start Jan. 23 with the arrival of the dogs and inspections by veterinarians, followed by a public meet-the-mushers reception. Each town celebrates the race with a variety of events,among them dog parades, ice-sculpture contests, and fishing derbies.
Various locations. 307-733-7388. www.wyomingstagestop.org.
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