Winter in the Twin Cities is damn tough, there’s no denying it. Just imagine, air so cold that it literally hurts to breathe so you cover your mouth with a scarf and then the condensation from your breath makes your eyelashes freeze together. Any exposed skin will be bitten by frost in just a few seconds. This is Minnesota in January. You can, theoretically, be snowbound in this State from late October through late April or sometimes early May.
Winters are so bad here that travel writers for a publication called, Thrillist just voted Minnesota as having the most miserable winters in the entire United States. I’m not a Minnesota native but have lived here for twenty-three years now and can vouch for the fact that it never gets easier.
Although this forced hibernation is fabulous for my work as a writer, winter still seems to last forever and (way more than) a day. Many of the hearty Nordic natives here will throw themselves completely into their winter sports like hockey, ice skating, cross country skiing, and even cycling in double-digit below zero temperatures.
For those of us who are less enthusiastic about the frigid temps, there are some occasional bright spots to help get us through our longest season. One of the brightest spots is the Saint Paul Winter Carnival.
The Birth of the Carnival
The concept of the Saint Paul Winter Carnival was born out of spite in 1885 when a New York reporter said Saint Paul was, “…unfit for human habitation” during the winter months. Almost immediately the Saint Paul Chamber of Commerce set out to prove this reporter wrong and present to the world the beauty of Minnesota winters. This is how the elaborate (and chilling) event began making it the oldest winter festival in the United States.
Mythology
There is a rich history of mythology involved in this carnival which is far too complex to explain here. If you’re keen on details here is the whole story. In short, the climax happens on the tenth and final day of the celebration when the King of Fire (Vulcanus Rex) overthrows the King of Winter (King Boreas). This is supposed to instill hope and optimism of the coming warmth, considering the carnival wraps up in early February, spring is still a long ways off. Hey, we can always hope...right?
Ice Palaces
Due to the expense and amount of labor involved, ice palaces aren’t constructed every year. The last one was built in 2004 and they’re been a total of thirty six ice palaces built since 1886 in various sizes and styles. For more of the history of the Ice Palaces click here. The public used to be able to walk through these palaces but now they can just be admired from the outside.
Medallion Hunt
Since 1952 the medallion hunt has been a way to get the public excited about the Winter Carnival festivities. Each day, for twelve successive days, the local Saint Paul newspaper publishes ever more detailed clues of the medallion’s location.
The lucky person who finds the medallion can win up to ten thousand dollars and they also get to ride in the Torchlight Parade which marks the end of the carnival. I remember watching the New Zoo Revue when I was about four years old in Columbus, Ohio. They featured a story about this medallion hunt on the children’s show in the 1970’s and I was completely fascinated by it. In a strange bit of serendipity I ended up living here.
It’s an easy decision to hop on a plane for tropical destinations like Mexico or the Caribbean to escape winter, I wouldn’t blame anyone for that. If you're the hearty type and want to go the in the opposite direction of the proverbial herd, head North for the Saint Paul Winter Carnival.
If you do look me up, I'll teach you a few secrets of survival up here. I always have a few extra thick wool sweaters lying around...I'll hook you up. Better yet, there’s a nice warm tavern right across the street. They mix a nice strong drink and have a generous pour, just incase your antifreeze levels get a little too low.
This year’s Saint Paul Winter Carnival runs through February 5th.
(Images Sourced from Saint Paul Carnival History website.)
Your upvotes, comments, and resteems are always appreciated!
I am an American novelist, poet, traveler, and Steemit enthusiast. If you’ve enjoyed my work, my handmade poetry chapbook, Emancipation, is for sale on Peerhub for a limited time.
Damn NY'ers -- think they know everything... :))
😂
Count me in, Eric. I'll be there. My husband was surprised we don't have any indoor tennis courts here in CA. He's from Chicago. I do remember them well from St. Paul. It may be cold, but you can still find ways to stay active.
That would be fun! You're welcome any time. A friend of mine was selected to be part of the royalty this year (one of the King's Guards.) Funny about your husband! Chicago winters can be brutal too. The wind off the lake cuts right through you.
sounds like a fun and necessary festival to help bridge those long winters!
Yes, @natureofbeing! It's a welcomed diversion. ☺
I'm sorry Eric ... I blacked out for 5 minutes after reading the words Minnesota and January in the same sentence :)
Funny @vegascomic, and I can relate. I black out nearly every time I step outside, or at least curse. ✌️
Lovely article! I'm in upstate NY, and while it is certainly not as harsh on a consistent basis as what you've described here, we also tend to have half a year of hibernation to look forward to. I think the dreary, grey skies get to me more than the temperatures. After a fresh snow, particularly when it's cold enough for ice to encapsulate the branches of the trees, it can be almost surreal in its beauty--if the sun is out and the skies are blue that is ;)
I would very much like to read your book, but my internet is lousy lately, and I can't seem to get your page to load any further. Would you mind posting a link to your first chapter in the comments? I would appreciate that, thanks again for being so helpful and encouraging!
Thanks, @dreemit! It's my pleasure to help. Feel free to reach out at any time with questions. I've heard it's really nice in upstate NY! Here's a link to Chapter 1 - https://steemit.com/story/@ericvancewalton/alarm-clock-dawn-an-original-novel-part-1 I rewrote much of the book as I was posting so the original version on Amazon is a bit different. When life gets less crazy I'd like to revise the Amazon version based on what I wrote here and rerelease it.
Thank you! I did actually make it to the first chapter and the second, but there wasn't a link to the next one from there and my internet was giving me problems again...So I realized I could buy it and put it on kindle! Which I did, and am enjoying very much! I hear you about the re-writing, but we are our own worst critics, I think it's awesome! I will gush properly and in more detail when I finish. Already though, I see the message underneath the story. My playground series is all about messages. I actually call it Reality In Fiction. I'm proud of those in particular if you ever have a chance to look at them. There are nine so far, and I will be writing more. I think it would be appropriate to call those episodes part one.
Taking note of the link issue, it reminds me that I need to put forward as well as backward links in my earlier posts, especially the playground series, since I didn't know how to use markdown at the time. ;)
Thanks for the reminder that I need to make time to insert those forward links! I appreciate your kind words. That novel was a labor of love, as is the sequel. The sequel has cryptocurrency as its central theme in the plot. My goal with Truth Is Stranger is to chart on the NYT Bestsellers list and hopefully help to bring crypto more into the mainstream (although this is happening anyway.) I'll take a look at your Playground Series, is it published elsewhere or exclusively on Steemit? You may want to comb through Charlie Shrem's posts. He helped create a WYSIWYG interface for posts that allows you to do away with markdown. I forget what it's called though.
Well I just discovered that just as you can't reply on posts older than about a month, you also can't edit them, so unfortunately inserting links will not be possible...unless you're aware of another way? Well, now I truly understand how the Blockchain is forever!
Boy do I ever know what a labor of love is. The novel I was seeking your advice for, which actually turned into two books, took me over three years to produce and I spent more time with my characters during that time than I did most of the real people in my life! I laughed, cried, fought, and struggled alongside them, thrilling moments when a part of the plot fell into place and I danced with joy, agonizing moments when nothing seemed to want to work together, then victory dances when that was overcome, haha! A rollercoaster ride of epic proportions, and I have to tell you that I love talking to someone who knows what that means and feels like! I can tell Alarm Clock Dawn is a labor of love, there is just something about books that the author is heavily emotionally invested in that comes through, as a reader I develop a connection to characters from such stories much more quickly than others.
I will definitely look through Charlie Shrem's posts, thank you for the tip!
As for The Playground Series, they are short stories, and the first time I ever wrote anything in the first person. If you're interested, and when you have time, definitely no pressure or presumption on my part! I appreciate every moment of time you've taken for me.
I'll also include the link to the last one I posted as that contains links to the previous episodes. Episode 1
episode 9
Thanks again eric!
My pleasure! I think you're correct about not being able to edit the older posts. I can totally relate, ACD, took me a total of 8 years, off and on. Writing a novel is like bootcamp and totally emotionally draining if you're putting your heart into it. I'll take a look at your short stories later today. Enjoy your Sunday and feel free to reach out at any time with questions.
lovely artikel :)
Thank you!
I lived through a January in Minnesota once - St. Paul is beautiful that time of year considering when it's warm you have to carry a gun to feel safe.
Wow, @txgeekgirl, I'm sorry you had such a bad experience here! There are definitely pockets of violence in the Twin Cities!
I would love to see that someday. Tweeted on @Steemit
Hopefully we'll have a new Ice Palace soon. They haven't built one since 2004 so we're due. Thanks for sharing the article, @hilarski!
Growing up in Northern Ontario in Canada, I know all about Winters that hurt. I remember having frozen fingers and toes many times from playing hockey on frozen ponds, and from skiing, and just from walking place to place. It sucks, but to be honest it's part of our identity as Canadians (and Minnesotans) and I have grown to have more appreciation for Winter as I get older.
I really wish I could "get there" and like it but have discovered I can tolerate it less every year. I think the snow is beautiful when temperatures are the tolerable range (down to around 15 degrees Fahrenheit for me). When the mercury dips below that it just makes like difficult. I love the outdoors and cycling so I think this is why it gets me down so much.
The '92 Palace was a gud'n. There were a lot in the 90s.
I didn't move here until '95 so I missed that one! I think the '92 palace broke a few world records.
Eric, just a few hours ago me and @pfunk were talking about Minnesotan winters... Cool coincidence.
Even cooler that you can hook up steemians with wool sweaters and generously poured drinks in the tavern. :)
That is a "cool" coincidence! 😉 It would be fun to show people around! Honestly though, there's much more to do here when it's warm.
45°F and sunny today... I don't think the Ice Palace would be doing so icy this winter! ;) They must use the Farmer's Almanac to decide or something.
Your post gave me flashbacks of standing out in the dark and frozen night, somewhere along Hwy 61 by the Mississippi river, watching the Ice Palace change colors. As a cold and impatient youngin, I was ready to head home. I remember being somewhat disappointed that it wasn't furnished, and you couldn't wander through ice passageways, winding ice staircases, and a great ice hall with ice chandeliers... Kids those days, sheesh... never satisfied. :P
Oh, I know! We're loving this warm up @lovejoy! It would be way better if they did the interiors as well. I guess a few of the earlier ones had complete interiors that could be walked through.
I will no longer moan about how cold I am in the UK!
I bet it's more bone-chilling there in the U.K.! Amsterdam felt that way to us, I had to layer up with a wool sweater there. It's a drier cold here in MN.
I thought I had harsh winter when I stayed in Kansas City, MO for 2.5 years but I had heard the twin city winter can be rough too.
Missouri is bad for tornadoes too, aren't they @ace108? I grew up in central Ohio and we had lots of tornadoes there during that time.
We didn't had bad tornadoes when I was there.
One time, I saw a report on TV about one near me when I was home.
Another time, a group of colleagues and I were staring out a office at one from a distance.
Close enough see but not close enough for damage.
Upvote from a fellow Minnesotan :)
Thank you @timcliff!
Never mind my request, I bought your book on Kindle, looks like I'm dusting it off after all :) Thanks again eric!