Lavender’s Winter What To Do Guide

Winter in Minnesota can seem interminably long, especially if you stay cooped up in your house from early November to mid-April. While hibernation might work out well for actual bears, it’s often not the best course of action for humans. Social interaction, along with just being in the good ol’ outdoors, with family and friends is healthy—both mentally and physically—not to mention fun.

The Twin Cities metro, as well as greater Minnesota, is replete with fun, interesting, and exciting activities throughout the winter months that will appeal to kids and adults alike. From cross-country skiing to pond hockey to indoor farmers markets, there are a plethora of activities that will get you off the couch and out enjoying yourselves with other hearty Minnesotans.

Let’s take a look at a few of the many offerings on hand that’ll help keep the winter doldrums at bay until spring arrives in all of its rich green glory once more.

DECEMBER

Winter SKOLstice
Through February 25 • 2645 Vikings Circle, Vikings Lakes, Eagan, MN

Combine winter and the Minnesota Vikings, and you come up with fun for all ages and skill levels when it comes to activities on the ice. Winter SKOLstice is back for its second year! Skating, pond hockey, curling, a warming house and the famous Minnesota Ice Maze all await you. Open Monday – Friday 4 – 10 PM, Saturday – Sunday 10 AM – 10 PM 
www.explorevikinglakes.com/winterskolstice

Queer Holiday Market
December 14 – 15 • Hosted by Urban Growler to benefit The Aliveness Project

It’s a holiday market like no other, showcasing over 25 locally owned business businesses.
www.aliveness.org • www.urbangrowlerbrewing.com

Circus Juventas’s Annual Holiday Show – “A Hygge Holiday”
December 8 – 17 • Under the Big Top in St. Paul

Circus Juventas celebrates the wonders of the season with their annual holiday performance that will bring the magic of the circus to your family’s yuletide celebration. Circus Juventas is, and always has been, proud to be a safe and supportive space for LGBTQ+ youth.
www.circusjuventas.org/holiday-show-2023

Ice Castles Minnesota
Dates and Hours Dependent upon Weather • Friday, Saturday, Sunday • 12500 82^nd Ave. N., Maple Grove, MN 55369

Don’t miss this awe-inspiring, winter must-see that brings fairytales to life! Ice Castles has something for everyone—ice slides, caverns and archways, a polar pub, crawl tunnels, ice sculptures, a lantern passage and a tubing hill. Fun for all ages!
www.icecastles.com/minnesota • www.experiencemaplegrove.com

Bentleyville Tour of Lights
Through December 26 • Bayfront Festival Park, Duluth

The largest free walk-through lighting display in America has something for everyone! Free treats, 4 million+ lights and a 128-foot Christmas tree will delight folks of all ages. Free admission, parking is $10 per vehicle.
www.visitduluth.com • www.bentleyvilleusa.org

The Dayton’s Project – Winter Maker’s Market
Through December 30 • Mon – Sat 10 AM – 6 PM, Sun 11 AM – 5 PM through Dec 23, Post-holiday hours announced later • First & Second floors of The Dayton’s Project, 700 Nicollet Mall, Downtown Minneapolis

The Dayton’s Project is bringing the holiday spirit back to Nicollet Mall with their second annual Winter Maker’s Market! Visit this curated retail experience that features 78 independent vendors showcasing heritage brands from across the state. You’ll be able to make a sizeable dent in your holiday gift list!
www.thedaytonsproject.com

Winter Lights
Selected dates through December 31 • Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Chaska

The Winter Lights display is always a stroll to remember! Tickets are required and go quickly, so check our website to get yours now. Enjoying the fresh, crisp air of a Minnesota winter evening surrounded by thousands of lights is an experience not to be missed. The Arboretum café will be open, and shopping at the gift store and music will be available on certain nights. Don’t miss the 25-foot Poinsettia Tree created with over 500 red, white and pink poinsettias.
www.arb.umn.edu/winterlights

GLOW Holiday Festival
Through December 31, 2023 • Open 5:00 – 9:00 PM • CHS Field, 360 Broadway St., St. Paul, MN 55101

GLOW is back, and it’s brighter than ever! Newly expanded exhibits abound, along with over a million glowing lights, Bright Bikes, the sElfie Plaza, Tremendous Tree, Enchanted Forest, the GLOW Spectacular and so much more. Tickets are on sale now!
www.glowholiday.com 

The Winter Markets at Viking Lakes
Weekends, through February 25 • Viking Lakes, 730 Vikings Pkwy., Eagan, MN

Shop 20+ rotating vendors, enjoy live music, food trucks, holiday-themed cocktails while having fun at the skating rink and looking at the magic light show.
www.explorevikinglakes.com

Mill City Winter – Farmers Markets
Select Saturdays/Weekends • December – April • Mill City Museum, Minneapolis

Just because the weather’s turned chilly, it doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the bounty of local farmers! They’ll be heading indoors to sell their wares on first and third Saturdays from 10 AM – 1 PM inside the Mill City Museum. No dogs, please.
www.millcityfarmersmarket.org

Minneapolis Farmers Market
Select Weekends/Saturdays • 9:00 AM – Noon • 312 E. Lyndale Ave. N., Minneapolis, MN

Providing fresh produce & products since 1876, we’re on a mission to bring goodness to our community all year long. Please, no dogs allowed.
www.mplsfarmersmarket.com

Winter Solstice Celebration
December 20 • 5 – 9 PM • American Swedish Institute, Minneapolis

What could be better than marking the shortest day and the longest night than doing so at the ASI? A special festival menu with small plates and warm Swedish mulled wine will be served by FIKA Café, and the Museum Store and Jul Shop will both be open late for attendees’ shopping needs.
www.asimn.org/event/winter-solstice

JANUARY

UNVEILED Minneapolis
January 4 • 5:00 – 9:00 PM • Minneapolis Hotel, The Depot, Minneapolis

Produced by The Wedding Guys, the ultimate wedding planning event returns with an all-new evening-style concept. Highlights will include a TrendSpot Fashion Show, Trend wedding experience, Colorful Weddings – BIPOC Wedding Vendor Showcase, a beauty bar and so much more!
www.theweddingguys.com/shows/unveiled

Minnesota Timberwolves Pride Night
January 12 • 7:00 PM
Dig out your brightest rainbow attire and cheer the Timberwolves as they take on the Portland Trail Blazers!
www.timberwolves.com/tickets

Northeast Farmers Market
January 7, February 4, March 3, April 14 • 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM • Quincy Hall, 1325 Quincy St. NE, Minneapolis, MN

Enjoy local foods and goods all year round! Eat healthy and buy locally. Please, leave pets at home.
www.northeastfarmersmarket.com

Frostival
January 13 – February 24 • Fargo and West Fargo, ND and Moorhead, MN

If you can’t beat winter, then join it! Winter kickball, volleyball, disc golf, cardboard sled races, massive bouncy castles, snow sculpture competitions—you’ll find all of that and so much more during the chilly madness of Frostival!
www.frostival.com

Neighborhood Roots at Bachman’s on Lyndale
January 13, February 4, March 9 • 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM • 6010 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis

Taking place indoors, this market series will feature all of your favorite venders from Kingfield, Fulton and Nokomis Farmers Market.
www.neighborhoodrootsmn.org/winter-markets

3rd Annual World Snow Sculpting Championship
January 17 – 21 • Lowell Park, Stillwater

“There’s NO business like SNOW business!” And, there’s no sight quite like that of teams coming together from around the world to compete in the creation of incredible snow sculptures as they vie for prize money and the title of World Champion. Attendees will have the chance to enjoy plenty of activities, ceremonies, social events, and the people’s choice award.
www.worldsnowsculptingstillwatermn.com/

19^th Annual U.S. Pond Hockey Championships
January 18 – 28 • Lake Nokomis, Minneapolis

Hockey is as natural to Minnesota as breathing, so why not layer up and come out to watch players hit the ice as nature intended!
www.uspondhockey.com

One Voice Mixed Chorus Presents: Dark Night, Star Bright
January 20 – 21 – The Cowles Center, Minneapolis

One Voice Mixed Chorus presents Dark Night, Star Bright, a concert exploring the transformative power of change and bright new beginnings. Introducing Artistic Director Kimberly Waigwa, Dark Night, Star Bright traverses the expansive horizon of change–the fear of uncertainty, the struggle of moving forward, and venturing bravely into the unknown. Featuring the music of Heitor Villa-Lobos, Florence Price, Take That! and more, join us for a brand new day!
https://www.onevoicemn.org/performances/dark-night-star-bright/

Art Shanty Projects
January 20 – February 11 • Lake Harriet/Bde Unma

Indulge in a whimsical, weird, uniquely experience that inspires joy in everyone from kids to adults. This yearly interactive art project, inspired by the ice fishing villages so prominent on Minnesota lakes, has an anything goes motto as far as construction and decoration for the 150+ artists who participate. Just don’t bring your fishing pole! 
www.artshantyprojects.org 

138^th Annual Saint Paul Winter Carnival
January 25 – February 4 • Various St. Paul venues

Come out to enjoy this St. Paul tradition that celebrates all things winter! Watch ice-carving competitions, enjoy free artistic and educational activities, music, dance, food, the medallion hunt, and so much more. Most events are free and open to the public, and will take place near Rice Park and Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul as well as at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.
www.wintercarnival.com

15^th Annual Anthony Ford Pond Hockey Classic
January 27 – 28, 2024 • Spring Lake Park, Mankato, MN

This two-day event is more than just a chance to enjoy hockey as it was meant to be played! Of course, it offers opportunities for both youth and adult players to show off their skills, but there are also options for all kinds of family fun such as a sledding hill, a warming house, and 12 separate professional rinks. Entry fees go to help local charities that support fighting childhood leukemia.
www.anthonyford99.com

John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon
January 28 • Duluth to Canadian border and back

The longest sled dog race in the lower 48, the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon sees competitors mushing in an event that covers nearly 400 miles and is a qualifier for the Iditarod race in Alaska. Come out to the 40^th running of this spectacle and cheer on these mighty mushers at Northern Minnesota’s top winter attraction.
www.beargrease.com • www.visitduluth.com

FEBRUARY

Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza
February 3 • Hole in the Day Bay, Gull Lake, MN

One of the largest charitable ice fishing contests on earth, the event was founded in 1991 and is held ten miles north of Brainerd.
www.icefishing.org

Chilly Open
February 9 – 10 • Lake Minnetonka, Wayzata Bay

Minnesota golf in February? You betcha! Freezing temperatures won’t stop 2,000+ Minnesotans from bringing out their hockey sticks and golf clubs to play a few rounds on four 9-hole courses plowed out on Lake Minnetonka. The golf tournament is a pre-registered event only, but there are plenty of other great things to indulge in for everyone else!
www.chillyopen.wayzatachamber.com

United We Shiver
February 10 • Lake Orono Park, Elk River, MN

Raise pledges for your favorite non-profit and take the plunge into Lake Orono! In addition to the icy plunge for those hardy souls willing to dive in, there are also plenty of other fun things for the whole family to enjoy such as a 5K and 10K run/walk, bean bag tournament, live music, food and a medallion hunt.
www.sherburneunitedway.org/unitedweshiver

Ely Winter Festival
February 1 – 11 • Ely, MN

Come on up for ten days of activities that celebrate the joys of winter in the Boundary Waters region! Snow carvings, the Ely ArtWalk, and fun for all abound.
www.elywinterfestival.com

Dog Mushing! Women’s Winter Adventure 2024
February 29 – March 3 or March 5 – 8 • 82 Irish Creek Rd., Hovland, MN

Have you ever had dreams of racing across the winter landscape behind your very own team of sled dogs? Here’s your chance! This is a true off-the-grid adventure for those wishing to learn about and participate in a wonderfully unique winter sport.
www.points-unknown.com/women/

City of Lakes Loppet Winter Festival
February 3 -4 • Theodore Wirth Park, Minneapolis

Originally designed as a cross-country ski race, the City of Lakes Loppet has become a winter staple that includes the Luminary Loppet, Cross-Country Ski, Skijor, Snowshoe, Fat Tire Bike events and more through Theodore Wirth Park.
www.loppet.org

41^st Annual Finlandia Ski Marathon
February 17 • Bemidji, MN

Attracting skiers from around the world, the Finlandia cross-country ski event has been held in Bemidji since 1982 and is often called the “The Nordic Festival of the North”. The event is open to skiers of all experience levels.
www.visitbemidji.com • www.minnesotafinlandia.com

MARCH

Minnesota Wild Pride Night
March 12 • 7:00 PM • Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul

Come out and join your Wild players as they show their Pride while taking on the Arizona Coyotes. Ticket pack includes a ticket to the game, an exclusive Wild Pride branded item, and a donation to the Twin Cities Pride Community.
www.nhl.com/wild/tickets/promotional-nights

All events are subject to change or cancellation, so please check their websites before making plans to attend.