Featured image credit: Lowell Winterfest in Lowell, Massachusetts

On Friday-Saturday, February 23-24, the town of Lowell, Massachusetts, comes alive with street performers, a beer garden with food trucks, vendors selling arts and crafts, ice skating and slides, rides on an old-fashioned carousel, and special illuminations spotlighting the town’s canals and City Hall. Also enjoy live music in a warm tent and a wide range of specialty foods.

Admission is free, except for these separate ticketed events:

• The Craft Beer Showcase, 5-9 p.m. February 23, features more than 20 breweries in two locations, The Lodge on JFK Plaza at the Lowell City Hall, 50 Arcand Drive, and The Cabin on Lucy Larcom Park at 255 Merrimack Street. Tickets are $33 per person for this 21 and older event (buy tickets). ID is required.
• Fifteen local restaurants and organizations prepare special soups and chowders for Richard Rourke Memorial Soup Bowl Competition, noon-3 p.m. February 24, at the Lowell Masonic Center, 70 Dutton Street. Tickets are $5 per person and available only at the door.
• The All You Can Eat Chocolate Festival is a treat for your palate and eyes. It’s on February 24, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, 8 Kirk Streets. Tickets are $7 per person and available only at the door.

For more information, visit the Lowell Winterfest website or call (978) 674-4260.

Lowell is 30 miles northwest of Boston.