The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: February sixth, celebrating Carnival in Quebec.

Most folks associate annual pre-Lent festivities with warm places like Mardi Gras in Rio or New Orleans, but at one of the world's largest Carnivals, the temperature is usually well below freezing.

For more than a century, the citizens of Quebec City, the capital of the Canadian province of the same name, have held an outdoor festival as an antidote for mid-winter blahs. What began as a merry weekend of odd, snowy sporting events and elaborate ice palaces grew into something of an arctic Mardi Gras, albeit one with a particular French Canadian flair.

Over the last decade, organizers have transformed Carnival into a family affair, a premiere winter pageant that now attracts more than a million participants. In addition toboggan rides and eskimo villages, the festival features a field full of huge, outlandish snow sculptures carved by artists from many different countries. Along with a full slate of PG rated events, there's big name entertainment, and lots of adult partying still goes on, especially after dark.

Winter Carnival, which runs through this weekend, is only one good reason for a visit to Quebec City, which ranks among North America's most charming cities in any season. The streets of the old city on the bluff have retained their classic buildings, but now they harbor the fine French restaurants and curio shops which make for splendid adventures. But beware. If things are melting, the avalanches of snow and ice that come rumbling from the rooftops of those charming old buildings can be fatal.

FMI For information on Quebec City's Winter Carnival, 1-418-626-3716 or www.carnaval.qu.ca

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