OTISFIELD – People are urged to embrace the cold this weekend as the town puts on its third annual winter carnival.

The event begins at 7 a.m. Saturday, with a breakfast at the Spurr’s Corner Fire Station on Route 121. Sponsored by the Otisfield Firefighters’ Association, the meal will include pancakes, eggs, sausage, muffins, juice and coffee. The breakfast will last until 9 a.m.

From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., there will be ice skating and a snow-sculpting contest at the town beach. From 10 a.m. to noon, the Otisfield Trailblazers will sponsor a snowmobile scavenger run, which will begin at the fire station. A $5 entry fee is required.

Beginning at 11 a.m. and going until 3 p.m., the town office will hold a sledding party, as well as crafts and snow sculpting. Refreshments will be available at the event, courtesy of the East Otisfield Free Baptist Church.

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the town beach will be the site of a children’s stick pony rodeo. From 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the town beach will also feature a lunch sponsored by the Otisfield Fire Department’s Public Education Safety Team. The meal includes chicken stew, corn chowder, hot dogs and beverages.

The event concludes with a dinner and dance at the Otisfield Community School. The dinner begins at 4:30 and ends at 6 p.m. It includes chicken, baked beans, cole slaw, beverages and dessert and is sponsored by the Spurr’s Corner Church, also on Route 121.

A donation of two nonperishable food items, which will benefit local food pantries, is required admission for the Western Ho-Down Dance, which goes from 7 to 10 p.m. Prizes will be awarded for the best western costumes, and refreshments will be available.

Donations will be accepted at all of the meals.

From 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, an ice fishing derby will take place on Pleasant and Thompson lakes. The weekend includes statewide free fishing days, and no fishing license is required. However, a $10 entry fee is required.

Participants in the fishing derby may register at the town office or New Outpost, both on Route 121, during normal business hours. Weigh-ins will take place at the New Outpost over the course of the day.

Children must be accompanied by an adult at all of the events. For more information, phone Noreen Edwards at 627-7033.