The patron of Polaveno is Saint Nicholas, celebrated on 6 December. In the hamlet of San Giovanni, Saint John the Baptist is celebrated instead, on 24 June, and in Gombio the Madonna della Neve, on 5 August.
For the feast of Saint Anne, co-patron of the Polaveno parish, the traditional Palio delle Oche (goose race) is run, with the animals urged on by their owners. In 1676, after a series of deaths from an epidemic, the whole community decided to solemnize with a feast the memory of Saint Peter Martyr, should he cause the contagion to cease. The town holds the Church of Santa Maria della Neve and the Church of Santa Maria del Giogo, and overlooks the Fossa Lupina.
