Embracing Winter in the North Country

Hello Ice Lantern Lovers,

The Staff Iceologist, Tom Hedberg, has hijacked my blog to wax poetic about Minnesota's love affair with WINTER, luminary events in the Twin Cities, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Super Bowl LII in 2018 . . .

Enjoy the Glow!  Jennifer Shea Hedberg, Ice Wrangler for Wintercraft

In 2017, Wintercraft's Ice Luminary Team installed a 5-day ice luminary walk called Midwinter Lights in the shadow of the US Bank Stadium. This photo of that event captured a glimpse into the future — the stadium surrounded by people and ice! SKOL!

THE BOLD NORTH. Ok, it's the marketing phrase for the 2018 Super Bowl (that's American Football at its finest...plus commercials!). "The Bold North" phrase was chosen to share with the world that Minnesota is a place where people embrace and celebrate winter. Outdoors. It just happens to also be where Wintercraft was born. Yes, Wintercraft's home town of Minneapolis, Minnesota will be hosting Super Bowl LII in a couple of weeks, and in these parts right now, we are in outdoor winter over-drive. I'll get to that . . .

A rosy-cheeked child enjoying the Middlemoon Creekwalk in Minneapolis, Minnesota a few years ago.

Of course, Minnesota is not the only place on the planet with an environment that allows one to have fun in winter and enjoy her natural beauty. We love seeing all the festivals and events worldwide with people bundled up with rosy cheeks and a healthy outlook. We all look at enough screens that seeing snow fall and ice form fills the spirit. Of course, we'd love to see ice lanterns at all events in other states and countries and maybe after Jennifer's DIY book Ice Luminary Magic! is released this summer. It could happen!

Back to The Bold North. I don't have a desire to make enemies with any Ice Lantern lovers living in Philadelphia, but this Sunday, I'll be cheering for the Minnesota Vikings to make it to the Super Bowl. Skol! For those of you that missed it, the Vikings advanced in miraculous fashion this past week scoring on the last play of the game. (Enjoy the Skol chant in the linked video!)

But win or lose, Minnesota will put out the welcome mat for visitors from around the world. At Wintercraft we'll be quite busy with our custom installation portion of our business - it's where Wintercraft's Ice Wrangler's creativity can go wild . . . We are booked with some private and corporate parties including a deluxe ice bar at one, sculptures near fire pits at another, a special ice feature at the amazing Stillwater Ice Castle, and more. In addition, we hope to install some ice sculptures in the Enchanted Forest of The City of Lakes Luminary Loppet again this year. As you may recall, Jennifer donated scads of time to create The Enchanted Forest in 2010 and has donated at least one sculpture every year afterwards. Time and weather will be our guide to how much we can donate this year. A truly exciting development for the Loppet is that Trevor Pearson of Metro Ice Sculptures was asked to create a fabulous orchestra of ice instruments for this year's Luminary Loppet. Given all that, we will also try to save some energy to enjoy a few of the MANY outdoor activities going on in the next few weeks. 

Here's a small list of events in The Bold North:

Stillwater Ice Castle

Red Bull Crashed Ice

Masters World Cup 2018 Nordic Skiing

Lake Harriet Art Shanties

U.S. Pond Hockey Championships

Minnesota Super Bowl Festivities  (including Zip Lining over the Mississippi River - crazy!)

The Loppet Winter Festival

Saint Paul Winter Carnival (includes the Ecolab Ice Palace)

The above is just a taste of what is going on..so head to The Bold North and enjoy.. and once this is all over, stay around because assuming the weather holds, we'll once again be part of The Middlemoon Creekwalk... in February.  Stay tuned!  Email sign up here

It's been a stellar winter for making ice lanterns here in Minneapolis... sure, a bit cold at times and unfortunately, a bit too warm as well.  But, all in all, people are loving the season and I hope you are as well in your neck of the woods.  We want to encourage you to make some more Globe Ice Lanterns this season, so we are offering FREE SHIPPING to U.S. addresses on all kits and supplies ordered by January 31, 2018.  Enter Code:  BoldNorth

Not shipping to the United States?  Save $8 on any order $25 or greater with Code: BoldNorth2 (expires January 31).

Enjoy the Glow.... (and Go Vikes!)

Tom Hedberg

Wintercraft Senior Staff Iceologist 

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