WESTBROOK – As Westbrook’s Winter West festival is set to kick off Friday, planners hope a “pub crawl,” complete with festival “passports,” can boost traffic to local businesses amid the cold and slow winter months.

During last year’s first-ever Winter West, a few thousand people made their way among attractions such as dog sled races at Sunset Ridge Golf Club, an ice hockey tournament, kayaking on the Presumpscot River, a 5K run and snow sculpturing.

This year’s festival offers those events and more, as local volunteers have helped in adding ice skating in Riverbank Park, an open house art walk at the Dana Warp Mill, and pub crawls on Friday and Saturday, featuring many of Westbrook’s downtown businesses.

With a festival “passport” and mug, residents can visit any number of the 21 participating restaurants, for great deals and the chance to win prizes. Each location will provide the passport holder with a stamp, which can be redeemed as entries to win more than 20 prizes, including a $100 Visa gift card.

Rob Mitchell, owner of HVAC Services Inc., and longtime proponent of river activities in Westbrook, said the success of this year’s kayak “flash mob,” as well as other activities, will depend heavily on the weather.

“The weather is really iffy for Saturday, so we have our fingers crossed,” he said.

Mitchell said that due to the latest spell of extreme cold, the river froze almost entirely, threatening to cancel the kayak event, but that warming later this week could open it enough for kayakers.

“You cover it through multiple venues,” he said, adding that the variety of activities offered throughout the festival is what will make it successful.

Another event that could be affected by the weather is the University of Southern Maine Men’s League Hockey Tournament, planned for Saturday afternoon on Lincoln Street. On Wednesday morning, the forecast for Saturday called for rain and a high of 45 degrees. However, Mitchell said, they’re still hoping events can bring more people into the downtown.

“Our thought process on that was that we can still bring 150-200 adults onto Main Street,” he said. “It’s just another venue to bring people in.”

Kicking off the festival on Friday is the first day of the pub crawl coinciding with “Family Skate Night” in Riverbank Park, which Mitchell believes will be a big hit. According to Mitchell, Christmas trees leftover from the holiday are being brought to the park to be used in a bonfire next to the rink.

Mitchell said there are a number of Westbrook business owners who volunteer to plan the festival almost year-round, including Tranchemontagne.

“It’s a big group of people who try to divide the work and make this something that’s really fantastic,” he said.

Lucas Lerman from Westbrook Public Works uses a loader to dump snow into a wooden frame at Saccarappa Park. The snow is packed down, the frame removed, leaving an 8-foot-high block that will be sculpted during this weekend’s Winter West contest. Cody Johnson from Westbrook Public Works uses a loader to dump snow into a wooden frame. The snow is packed down, the frame removed, leaving an 8-foot-high block that will be sculpted during the weekend Winter West contest.Westbrook restaurateur James Tranchemontagne, left, ice sculptor Jason Bluck, right, and a cadre of men and equipment from Westbrook Public Works spent the better part of three days this week preparing blocks of snow in Saccarappa Park for the upcoming Winter West snow sculpture contest.