The St. Paul Winter Carnival

by Meredith

The St. Paul Winter Carnival is a tradition that has been around since 1886 when citizens of the Minnesota tundra wanted to plan something fun during the dead of winter.  It's always held in our state capital during the last week of January/ first week in February and runs for 12 days.  This year it runs January 26 through February 6.

The celebration entertains thousands of people from Minnesota and beyond - revealing man-made ice sculptures, an ice skating rink, ice bar, stage for music, fireworks, multiple parades, a coronation selecting each year's large royal court and more - all within a few blocks of each other.  Definitely a must see if you're here this time of year.  Last week I strolled through Rice Park and took some pictures of them working on the ice sculptures and gearing up for the first big weekend.