Knitted and crocheted tree cozies will add colour to Winterlude sites in Ottawa and Gatineau this year. (Kate Porter/CBC)

Trees and lampposts dressed up in fashionable knitwear will join ice and snow sculptures as artful attractions at this year's Winterlude festival in Canada's capital region.

"We'll have a really colourful environment … that's inviting and not just cold and wintry but also warm and cozy," said Melanie Yugo. She will be co-ordinating the showcase of "knit graffiti" through her group Spins and Needles, which organizes a local series of craft and DJ nights.

As usual, giant snow slides, a snow maze, skating on the frozen Rideau Canal and musical and dance performers are part of the lineup released Tuesday for the annual winter celebration in the National Capital Region. It takes place on weekends between Feb. 5 and 21, and will feature traditional snow and ice sculpture contests.

But this is the first time trees, lampposts and benches at festival sites in Ottawa and Gatineau will be wrapped and adorned with knitted and crocheted "cozies," including some submitted from as far away as Nova Scotia and Alberta.

Melanie Yugo will hold workshops to teach people how to knit and crochet the tree cozies during Winterlude. (Kate Porter/CBC)

Barbara Irving, who will be helping Yugo co-ordinate the art project, said it's fun.

"You look at it and have a laugh too," she said. "You're going to see all kinds of colours and textures."

Yugo and Irving will be holding workshops during Winterlude to teach people how to knit and crochet the cozies. They will display each finished product on a suitable tree or piece of street furniture.

It's easy and no prior experience or knowledge is necessary, said Yugo.

Irving said the project is part of a worldwide movement of "activist" knitters.

"Sometimes they'll crochet or wrap the yarn into picket fences, spelling out words or slogans … there's books on this available now," she said. "One is called Yarn Bombing."

Irving said the knitted art at Winterlude will be photographed and then recycled into scarves, mittens and other useful items once the festival is over.