The St. Paul Winter Carnival’s cast of characters unveiled the festival’s commemorative button designs on Saturday night at an event at Union Depot.
Artist Geno Okok, photographed in St. Paul on Monday, May 16, 2022. (Scott Takushi / Pioneer Press)
The buttons are designed by Geno Okok, a local muralist. Okok, who moved from Nigeria when he was 7 years old, is the first Black artist to design a button, the Carnival said.
Prices are the same as last year: $5 for one button or $19 for a package containing all four.
Okok’s work is visible on buildings around St. Paul and the Twin Cities. He helped lead a multi-lingual Frogtown mural project earlier this fall to support local housing, and was also involved in this summer’s Chroma Zone Mural and Art Festival and a 2020 project led by Springboard for the Arts to highlight street art in honor of George Floyd. In October, with a grant from St. Paul public arts organization Forecast, Okok painted a large-scale mural entitled “A Beautiful World” near the elementary school he attended in Brooklyn Park.
You can buy buttons at Cub Foods, Spire Credit Union or City & County Credit Union locations, or at one of the following businesses:
• CandyLand: 435 N. Wabasha St., St. Paul
• City & County Credit Union: 1661 E. Cope Ave., Maplewood
• Como Lake B&B: 1205 W. Como Blvd., St. Paul
• A Johnson & Sons Florist: 1738 Grand Ave., St. Paul
• Bright Corner Gift Shop: 640 Jackson St., St. Paul
• Landmark Center Gift Shop: 75 W. 5th St., St. Paul
• KJ’s Hideaway: 408 St. Peter St., St. Paul
Buttons are also available for purchase online at wintercarnival.com/buttons/. The carnival runs from Jan. 26 to Feb. 5, 2023.
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