I've already downloaded all the flix from my adventures today, and my camera STILL feels like a block of ice as I cradle it in my hands. Oh well, it's seen worse (heavy exposure to spray paint and sand in January alone).
This February I created a personal mission for myself. Attend social and recreational outdoor events during the frigid MN winter that I have deemed "crazy" in the past. I definitely fall in the category of Minnesotans who "love my state, but can barly tolerate the winter". Sure I have my winter traditions that push me through to April (or MAY). Lots of cooking, reading, working-out. Let's not forget the heavy helping of TV on DVD. I like a lot of theme nights to bust out of boring routines. One year, my Husband and I had a Minnesota Winter theme night where we made "Hotdish" and watched Fargo.
Then I started to think about all these crazies who claim to love the Minnesota winter. Seriously. They don't hide inside from it. No, they hang their winter freak flags high, and jump in head-first, some literally plunging into frozen lakes for "polar bear clubs". Nothing that extreme for me, thanks. But I did want to check out the events that I've heard people raving about for years. February, are you trying to flirt with me?
February 6th became my Minnesota Winter "Let's Do This" Day. Man, if Prince can get Apollonia to jump naked into a half-frozen Lake Minnetonka, the least I can do is bundle up to hit two winter events that our fine Twin Cities are known for.
First stop, Art Shanty Project, Medicine Lake
Upon arriving to Medicine Lake, I immediately shared with my friend Crystal that in high school, I drove my Oldsmobile onto a frozen Lake Minnetonka to hang out in an ice house one Friday night. Where, on the rest of Earth, is this a normal teenage activity outside of Minnesota, Wisconsin or Canada? Is that really a standard Friday night for a 16-year old...ice-fishing with the opposite sex?
Well, if you've ever wanted to check out art galleries on a frozen lake instead of frigid fishing huts, Medicine Lake is the destination. Souped up ice houses out on a solid lake infused with interactive art make for a delightful afternoon.
Art Shanty Project describes itself as "A four-weekend exhibition of performance, architecture, science, art, video, literature, survivalism and karaoke, ASP is part sculpture park, part artist residency and part social experiment, inspired by traditional ice fishing houses that dot the state’s lakes in winter."
The highlight to me was the celebration of winter itself: kids pulled on sleds behind snowmobiles, snowbikes, artists drinking beer in their full-body snowsuits and dogs aplenty. It was more reminiscent of a summer BBQ than a miserable winter day.
You gotta love the "dance shanty" blasting Pitbull with middle-aged men bouncing up and down. Also, The Post Office Shanty was actually a functioning USPS affiliate for the four weeks it was out there. There was even an ice house that strictly traded art with the attendees, a teepee that was a sauna and a shanty that taught you everything you need to know about Finland. I'll see you again next year, Art Shanty Project.
So the second half of my cold-to-the-core day was the City of Lakes "Loppet". What reeled me in was the Loppet Luminaria event that would light up Lake of The Isles with ice-brick luminarias. What does loppet even mean? No idea. Probably "crazy-long snowshoe race" in Norewegian. The hard-core race was happening the next day. Regardless, thousands of Minnesotans and tourists snowshoed, cross-country skied, baby-sledded or hiked down an snow sculptured street (The Mall) until it spit you out onto a whimsical winter lake scene. I even saw a dog legitimately pulling a kid on a sled (same as baby-sledding, minus parent involvement). Once you reached the lake, the lumirarias led the way through the dark as you looped across Lake of the Isles. Not to mention there were fire jugglers and ice pyramids once you arrived at the main lake.
I get it now. When does one get to kick it on a frozen lake, covered in beautiful lights on a winter night? It was gorgeous. And a balmy 23 degrees. Winter, you kick my ass and my spirit every year, at least offer up some beauty. It was what I had been searching for: a way to embrace the Minnesota Winter as charming and charismatic. To see people in an outdoor setting, after hibernating with family, food and DVD entertainment for all of January.
So February, you flirted with me, and you got me (this once). My friend Chip has even convinced me to try snowshoeing or cross-country skiing. And I think I'm actually gonna do it! What am I doing? Being a winter hater has carried me through life this far, and now I'm gonna throw it away and hang out outside? Oh well, only 84 days until the May Day Celebration!
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