Festivals on Ice, St. Paul Style

Another leisure Saturday, another trip over to the State Capital, St. Paul. We were invited by Ruby's aunt and uncle to experience the first day of the Winter Carnival. We learned as the day progressed, that the St. Paul Winter Carnival was started back in the day, in 1886 and has been a huge community festival ever since. According to my research about the beginnings of this tradition, business leaders of the burgeoning city wanted to, "...disprove a New York newspaper reporter who had described their beloved city as 'another Siberia, unfit for human habitation in the winter.'” Hysterical.

As we have described on numerous occasions on the blog, Minnesotans are anything but wimpy winterizers. Bikers, skiers, nude pedestrians, dog walkers; all in sub zero temperatures with wind-chill! Carnival was no exception. Today was an especially brutal winter morning. We were out of the house by 9:30am and by 10am we were sipping sweet, hot coffee and partaking in delicious baked goodness at Swede Hollow on E.7th St. We enjoyed some delicious coffee; I had a Cubano coffee which was 2 shots of espresso, brown sugar and steamed milk. Coffees were served with a bitter-sweet chocolate stir stick. Artichoke Strata (picture a savory crustless quiche flecked with red peppers, artichokes and shallots, topped with finely grated cheese). My fellow eaters had an assortment of pastries ranging from cherry almond scones to pecan buns to sweet cinnamon bread pudding. Breakfast of champions.

Ice sculptures were being carved as we walked through the amazing display. Day one of the Winter Festival was underway... (if you have a hard time making out the sculptures, the one on the right is called 'School of Fish' Complete with Mr. Wally Eye, teaching up front, and little dunce-cap fish sitting on a conch shell beside him. Below, a scenic tiki beach, hammock, palm trees and tropical temptations...)

From there we hopped back in the car and jetted of to Rice Park - not so much a park but a little green area opposite the Landmark Center, an amazing architectural structure built in 1802 complete with St. Paul lore and historical significance. We learned all about the history of the building, from its heyday at the turn of the century, to its transformation into USPS central station, to 1930's New Deal headquarters. A national landmark, today it serves as a cultural center for music, dance, theater, exhibitions, and can be rented for kick ass parties.
Fun times. Cold, but definitely worth waking up for delicious breakfast and supporting sub-zero ice carving aficionados.

We gave the Winter Carnival a whirl. What would you do with 6 months of winter??