This article is featured in the 2026 Winter Carnival Issue.
From Feb. 5-8, Dartmouth will celebrate its 116th annual Winter Carnival, with the theme “The Blizzard of Oz: Wicked Cold.” Behind the scenes, Winter Carnival council members, administrators and volunteers have been planning, designing and building the event since the fall term.
Winter Carnival council members began the process by brainstorming dozens of ideas before the Council collectively voted on a theme. Their goal was to announce the theme before winter break, according to Winter Carnival council co-chair Eloise Taylor ’28.
“For themes, we try to go off of what’s popular right now, but also we want to make sure it has a wide appeal to people that are in school,” Taylor said.
After voting on the theme, Winter Carnival council members began planning and designing programming for the event. While Winter Carnival maintains traditions including the Polar Bear Swim and the Ice Sculpture Contest, each year the council adds new events based on the theme and popular culture, according to Winter Carnival council co-chair Jim Heller ’28.
‘A new capstone event’
Heller said this year the Winter Carnival council is bringing back “Frost Lights: Over the Rainbow” — a half-mile interactive light and sound installation trail behind the Shattuck Observatory. He hopes this event will become a “capstone” of Winter Carnival as other traditions — such as the Polar Bear Swim — may become more difficult to hold due to warmer winters.
“We’re hoping to cement a new capstone event that the Winter Carnival will be recognized for,” Heller said. “We’re hoping that this Frost Lights event gets a lot of traction and can be something that people look forward to every year.”
Although this year is notably bucking the trend, recent years have seen warmer and less snowy Winter Carnivals. Student Involvement director and Winter Carnival council advisor David Pack noted the increasing difficulties of predicting the weather for Winter Carnival. Planned events such as the Polar Bear Swim are “reliant on snow and ice” and can therefore present a “real challenge” if the temperature rises above freezing levels leading up to the weekend of Winter Carnival.
“One of the ways we are preparing for [temperature fluctuations] is by trying to come up with programs that are weather and climate resilient,” Pack said.
Pack added that previous long-standing Winter Carnival events, such as life-size snow sculptures, are no longer feasible due to the need for “long-term” student commitment in building the sculptures. He noted that “students are busier” and are less “willing to invest that amount of time on the project.”
As a result, designing Winter Carnival events now requires navigating both climate uncertainty and changing patterns of student engagement from year to year.
“I think it’s trying to recalibrate Winter Carnival, and what the components of it are, to the needs of the current student body and the realities of our current climate uncertainty, while still making sure that the focus is creating this bright spot in the middle of winter,” Pack said.
‘Trying to be really in-theme’
This year, Winter Carnival is working with student organizations and campus facilities to design events around the Wizard of Oz theme, according to Taylor. Inspired by the Oz Dust Ball in the movie “Wicked,” student dance groups will perform during a student dance party at the Hopkins Center.
Taylor said that Winter Carnival will also include events themed around current global events, such as the Winter Olympics. Winter Carnival will host a “Winter OZlympics” watch party to watch the Games, as well as an “Aca-lympics” that showcases student a cappella performances.
“We’re trying to be really in-theme, but also include campus groups and more people,” Taylor said.
Leading up to Winter Carnival, the Winter Carnival council begins building any necessary items and decorating spaces in a “big crafting session,” according to Heller.
“We build everything for the Frost Lights event and the opening ceremony and anything else that needs specific things,” Heller said.
As Winter Carnival approaches, Pack said he hopes students will take time to enjoy the events and activities planned for the annual tradition.
“In the middle of our darkest term here, to find a way not just to survive winter, but to celebrate winter,” he said.
