How do you celebrate 125 years of frigid fun at the St. Paul Winter Carnival?
By planning 125 events for carnival-goers.
This year’s expanded lineup includes lots of events for the athletic, one for the romantic and some for the thirsty — in some cases, all in one venue.
“Our biggest challenge is making sure we get everyone involved,” said Beth Pinkney, head of the St. Paul Festival & Heritage Foundation, which puts on the Winter Carnival. “We could have done more events, but we finally had to say, let’s just do it next year.”
The goings-on tied into this year’s anniversary carnival doubled compared with last year, including skiing along Lake Phalen, an ice bar in Rice Park and a wedding.
Pinkney said there’s also a renewed focus on sporting events, a mainstay of the celebration when it started in 1886.
Sure, there will still be the ice-carving competition, the parades and Vulcans roaming the streets, but for those in the mood for something new, check out these happenings:
Winter Carnival Talent Contest: First slated for the 2010 carnival but canceled due to lack of participation, the talent contest is back. Finals are Feb. 5 at Landmark Center’s F.K. Weyerhaeuser Auditorium.
Get Out and Go Saint Paul: This family festival brings outdoor sporting events back to Lake Phalen, including Nordic skiing, skijoring and snowshoe races. Speed-skating, skiing and ski-jumping demonstrations, along with youth ice fishing and kids’ games, also are planned from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 29.
Geocaching: Get outdoors Jan. 29 with a GPS receiver to find hidden caches all around St. Paul.
Salute to Canada: Representatives of Winnipeg’s Festival du Voyageur visit Rice Park from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Jan. 29 and share Canadian winter traditions as well as the music of French-Canadian folklore group Ca Claque!
Winter Fest 2011: Drink gluhwein and beer, eat brats and listen to German pop music from the 1970s and ’80s on Jan. 29 during the techno karneval at the Germanic-American Institute on Summit Avenue. The fun and games run from 3 to 7 p.m., with the Euro dance party beginning at 7 p.m.
Robotic snowplows: The Institute of Navigation Satellite Division Autonomous Snow Plow Competition (whew!) happens on Fourth Street between Market and Washington streets near Rice Park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 29 and 30. Students from six colleges and universities — including the universities of Minnesota, Michigan and Ohio — clear snow with robotic, computer-controlled plows.
More to do in Rice Park: The downtown greenspace swells during the carnival this year, with live music daily by local artists; an ice bar serving Summit beer and Cannon River’s “Winter Ice” wine; a 125-foot-long, 8-foot-tall ice wall detailing carnival history; and, of course, the ice carvings.
Royal wedding: Charlie Hall (King Boreas in 1983) and Dorothy Furlong (Queen of the Snows 1955) got engaged in December and will marry at 2 p.m. Feb. 5 in Rice Park. The couple will be joined by family and past and current royalty during this public ceremony.
John Brewer can be reached at 651-228-2093.
Copyright 2011 Pioneer Press.