The end of January marks a festive time for the City of Saint Paul. We celebrate the 128 year old Saint Paul Winter Carnival. The Carnival is 10 days of pure, winter magic. Sadly the city no longer builds a massive, colorful ice palace, but there are many fun activities to enjoy. One of the most popular events is the ice sculpting at the enchanting Rice Park in the middle of downtown Saint Paul.
We made sure to check out the ice sculptures on the first weekend of the festival in case of any mid-week thaw. Sunday was crisp, clear, and extremely windy! It was great to be shielded from the wind by the tall, downtown buildings. The sculptures were fantastic!
And we got to see some artists in action!
The carnival did set up an ice throne and castle facade as a nod to the historical ice palaces.
There was an ice bar serving up chilled MN craft beer. {I still need to teach my husband about photo composition...}
After spending time in Rice Park, we headed over to the MN State Fairgrounds to check out the snow sculptures.
There was a huge snow slide that looked fabulous! We had to pass on having a go on it but we enjoyed watching others!
After a turn around the sculptures and a pit stop at the kettle corn truck the CRAZY wind started getting to us and we decided to pack it in.
Ethan stayed cozy in his fleece bunting. It is adorable and very warm! I was happy that his hands and feet stayed toasty with his fleece hat and gloves.
Ethan did well in the cold temps wrapped up in his snuggly suit and in his ergobaby, but I think the wind was a little too much for him {as it was for us!} and did us in.
Next weekend, the Fire King and his Vulcan Krewe will overthrow King Boreas and allow spring to return to Saint Paul. Maybe King Boreas can reign in the North Wind next year...here's to hoping.
Vi ses senare!
Emily
Read about the legend of the Carnival here!
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