Even for those who don’t ski,  the City of Lakes Loppet Festival offers a wide range of activities such as dog sled races, for participants and spectators alike.

The festival starts Jan. 31 and runs through Feb. 2. The Loppet offers 19 different events, including traditional activities such as classic and skate cross country skiing.

The Loppet also has events such as cross country skiing with a dog in the skijoring race, a snow sculpture contest and a night event with candle-lit lanterns called the Comcast Luminary.

In addition to activities that have been around since the establishment of the festival, this year welcomes the new events. According to Kristen Spargo, director of advancements for the Loppet Foundation this year welcomes a dog sled race, a full 42 km marathon and a snowshoe event.

“Anyone can participate, a lot of the events are for casual skiers,” Spargo said. “In the Luminary, participants can ski, snowshoe or walk while spectators enjoy the skijoring, which are ski races with dogs.”

All Saturday ski events consist of classic style while all Sunday events are skate style. The Luminary takes place Saturday with multiple time waves because of the popularity of the event.

This year senior Owen Dennehy, previously a spectator of the event, said he looks forward to being  involved in the events.

“I’m really looking forward to participate instead of watching on the sidelines,” Dennehy said.

Although freshman Nils Rykken said he is not a skier, he believes the skijoring and the dog sled races would attract people and might get them interested in skiing.

“The dogs would definitely attract younger people, and they could take up skiing as a sport and become more athletic in the future,” Rykken said.

The Loppet Foundation was established in 2002 and hosted the first festival in 2003 with unfavorable conditions, according to Spargo.

Spargo said the Loppet village at Lake Calhoun center is new to the festival. Many of the races will start and finish there; other locations in the festival include Theodore Wirth Parkway and Lake of the Isles.

Junior Miranda VanPilsum-Johnson, a participant in the Loppet Festival in years past, said she believes it helps bring people closer.

“It’s a community event, it just brings together everyone,” VanPilsum-Johnson said. “There’s events for everyone, not just really intense skiers.”

The festival cost varies because of the wide arrangement of events, however coming to watch and cheer people on is free.