Get your winter(fest) survival kit right here

If we invited you to share one word for winter, could we print yours?

We ask that question sincerely. We know this season demands attention. Just walk into a north wind (like the one we experienced two weeks ago) in only your thin jacket, tennis shoes and no gloves or hat. Lesson learned.

Or, what if you're planning February outdoor festivities (as in Herminia Din's Winter Design Project, or Student Life and Leadership's Winterfest) and Mother Nature fails to cooperate? There are consequences: This year, the Iditarod's restart mushes off from Fairbanks instead of Willow, though the ceremonial start on Anchorage's Fourth Avenue will remain as scheduled.

But for we dwellers at latitude 61° N, winter is more than snow. It's also cold and dark. And if we can't get out to ski, sled, snowmobile, build snowpeople and have bonfires, well, we still need a mighty dose of TLC.

Northerners across the globe have found ways to relax in winter, from lighting a cozy candle, to sipping a warm drink to un-hunching that chilly back. Humans just like us have learned to celebrate winter's ferociousness.

So here's help for the rest of us. This UAA survivor toolkit for February has a few names:

• Winterfest 2015 Feb. 20-28, UAA campus; on Facebook
• Winter Design Project Feb. 18-27, Cuddy Quad
• Sami Stories Symposium 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Feb. 27, Arts 117, RSVP

One word for winter

Before we jump into the details of all that, we'll give you one uplifting word for winter: hygge (pronounced hYOOguh; listen to it). As you might suspect, the Danes are all over this hygge, which means something like "get cozy," but translates as "fireplace warmth with candles and family and friends and food, tucked under blankets on a snowy day, cup-of-coffee conversation, scarf-snuggle, squiggly, warm baby love."

Twitter's in on it, too; just #hygge, and suddenly you're not alone in your pursuit of winter survival. And those northern Europeans have some pretty awesome skills at creating livability in cold climes.

OK, so you don't need a plane ticket to Denmark, Iceland, Norway or Scandinavia to get some hygge. We've got some lined up for you right here at UAA. We'll take the overlapping events by date so you won't miss a thing. Note that schedules are being finalized as we head into the festivities, so do check the Winterfest Facebook page and web site.

Now get out your dance card and fill it up!

Winterfest and Winter Design Project events by day

Wednesday, Feb. 18 8:30 p.m.3D Design class will build cairns from reclaimed wood

Thursday, Feb. 19 10-11:15 a.m. World Indigenous Music students install an ice instrument 12:15-1 p.m. Spanish class paints graffiti on snow

Friday, Feb. 20 1-4 p.m. Winter Design Kick Off Party, Cuddy Quad, free food, snowman village, ice lanterns, snow sculpture 1-3 p.m. Print-making class creates silkscreen and stencil prints on snow and ice 2 p.m. Mathematics class presents Kleinsche Flasche, a bottle made of ice that has no insides 5-7 p.m. Opening Reception for Contentment, Student Union Gallery, free food 7:30 p.m. Charles Bradley and the Extraordinaires, Wendy Williamson Auditorium

Saturday, Feb. 21 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Winter Design Project installations continue, Cuddy Quad 14-5:15 p.m. Shakedown Outhouse Races, Cuddy Quad 2-5 p.m. Film and panel discussion, "Dear White People" Wendy Williamson Auditorium

Sunday, Feb. 22 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Winter Design Project installations continue, Cuddy Quad

Monday, Feb. 23 10 a.m. Alumni Good Morning Seawolves, Alumni Relations Office 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Continue Flow of Color, PSB Lobby 1-2 p.m. Intro to College Writing Class presents written work featuring snow and ice 1:30-3 p.m. Mid-day Reception for Contentment, Student Union Gallery, free food 7-8 p.m. Public Lecture by Professor Huo Shou Yi, Sculpture Department, Northeast Normal University, Arts 117

Tuesday, Feb. 24 9-11 a.m. Good Morning Seawolves, UAA Campus Bookstore, free food 9:30-11:30 Good Morning Seawolves, Alumni Relations Office, sponsored by First National Bank Alaska 9-11 a.m. Workshop, snow playground for kids, Cuddy Quad 10:15-10:30 a.m. World Indigenous Music students perform on ice instrument, Cuddy Quad 11:15 a.m.-2:15 p.m. Great Winterfest Challenge obstacle course, Cuddy Quad, prizes 11:15 a.m.-2:15 p.m. Place. Position. Change., Cuddy Quad, Winter play and spatial design 1-2 p.m. Writing students, work featuring snow and ice 1:30-3:30 p.m. Workshop, snow playground for kids, Cuddy Quad 6-9 p.m. Table Tennis Tournament, Student Union

Wednesday, Feb. 25 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Continue Flow of Color, PSB Lobby 11 a.m.-1 p.m. DJ Spencer Lee/Go Seawolves free food, Student Union Noon-1 p.m. Good Afternoon Seawolves, free food, Alumni Relations Office 4-7 p.m. Global Kitchen 2015, Student Union Cafeteria 6 p.m. Killing Us Softly, Advertising's image of women featuring Jean Kilbourne, Gorsuch Commons 106 7-8 p.m. Public Lecture, marine litter as material for site-specific art, Arts 117 7 p.m. 5th annual Beard and Stache Contest, Student Union and Commuter Services

Thursday, Feb. 26 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Continue Flow of Color, PSB Lobby 1-2 p.m. Iced Alphabets, Cuddy Quad 4-7 p.m. Global kitchen 2014, Student Union Seawolf Mania begins, Alaska Airlines Center 5:15 p.m. UAA WBB vs. Seattle Pacific, Alaska Airlines Center 5:30 p.m. Nine in the Spine, Alumni Relations 6 and 7:30 p.m. Killing Us Softly 4, Rasmuson Hall Room 110 7:30 p.m. MBB vs. Western Oregon, Alaska Airlines Center 8 p.m.-Midnight Winter Ball/Dance Lee Gorsuch Commons Room 107

Friday, Feb. 27 8:55 a.m.-4:15 p.m. NCBI Social Inclusion and Equity student workshop, Gorsuch Commons, Room 107 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Continue Flow of Color, PSB Lobby 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sami Stories Symposium, RSVP required, Arts 117 12-4 p.m. Winter Design Project Closing Celebration, free food, warm drinks, music and more 4 p.m. Hockey Pep Rally, sponsored by RHA 7 p.m. Banff Mountain Film Festival, Wendy Williamson Auditorium 7 p.m/ Gymnastics vs. Centenary, Alaska Airlines Center 7:07 p.m. UAA Hockey vs. Bowling Green, Sullivan Arena

Saturday, Feb. 28 12 a.m. on - KRUA 23rd Birthday celebration 1 p.m. WBB vs. Montana State Billings, Alaska Airlines Center 3:15 p.m. MBB vs. St. Martin's, Alaska Airlines Center 7 p.m. Banff Mountain Film Festival, Wendy Williamson Auditorium 7:07 p.m. Hockey vs. Bowling Green, Sullivan Arena