The 2012 Ice and Smelt Festival takes place today and Saturday, primarily at Mailly Waterfront Park in Bowdoinham. A $5 pass admits revelers to all indoor activities, unless otherwise noted. Participants age 8 and younger will be admitted free with an adult. All outdoor events are free.

The schedule is as follows:

Today, Feb. 3

• Opening reception at Merrymeeting Arts Center 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Suggested donation is $5.

Saturday, Feb. 4

• Make Art at Cathance Place, 6 Main St., 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• “Ice & Smelt: Winter on the Bay” at Merrymeeting Arts Center, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Best Smelt Recipe: Masonic Lodge, 10 a.m. to noon.

Bring dish and your recipe to the Masonic Lodge by 11 a.m. Dishes will be tasted by a panel of local judges led by chef Tony Lavelle. Prize for best dish will be awarded at noon.

— Best Dressed Smelt: Masonic Lodge, 10 a.m. to noon. Contestants will be given two hours and a variety of materials with which to create a fantasy smelt. Separate categories for ages 3-8; 9-14; 15- 18 and adult.

— Bowdoinham EMS selling food all afternoon.

— Best Built Lego Smelt Shack: Masonic Lodge, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Lego sets will be provided. Shacks need to include a “fisherman,” a heat source and a way to catch the fish. Prizes will be awarded at 3 p.m.

— Best Beard Contest, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

— Best Smelt Catch: Waterfront ramp, 3 p.m. Prizes will be awarded for the most number of smelt caught, the largest (by weight), the largest (by inches) and the smallest (judge’s call). Prizes awarded at 3 p.m.

— Royalty No. 1 and No. 2: Complete entry forms at Merrymeeting Arts Center between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Contestants must be residents of Bowdoinham, age 18 or older. Prizes of 52 Bowdoinham trash tags will be awarded to each of the first two names drawn Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at the gazebo. Winners need not be present to win but must attend the Smelt Ball to be crowned.

— Outdoor activities at Mailly Waterfront Park, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., including cross country skiing with Dwight Blease (possibly moved to elementary school on Cemetery Road); snow shoeing; and archery demonstration by Carole Dyer.

— Indoor activities at Masonic Lodge, 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Puppet show (Fairy Tales from a smelt’s perspective), storytelling of “Smelt Makes Ice.”

— Carnevale (Parade) of Smelt, 4 p.m., starts at Masonic Lodge. “Critters of all ages are invited to don a fish head or your own Merrymeeting

Bay animal costume, then “wiggle, writhe, crawl or leap your winter woolies away as the Carnevale of Smelt parades down Main Street to the waterfront,” the website states. Staged by Ziggurat Theatre Ensemble.

— Bonfire and Luminaries, Mailly Waterfront Park, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

— Long Branch School activities, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Masonic Lodge. Potluck meal from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Music from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Free; donations for bands accepted. www.longbranchschool.com.

— Smelt Ball, Bowdoinham Town Hall, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Music; $10 or $8 if in costume.