The 2021 St. Paul Winter Carnival was unlike any of the 134 Winter Carnivals that came before it.
The pandemic canceled the Carnival’s two centerpiece parades, ice bars and entertainment in Rice Park, in-person family activities, and pretty much every activity that involved human interaction. Even outdoors. Even bundled to the gills against the winter cold.
While the financial impact of the COVID changes and cancellations hasn’t been totaled yet, organizers say there were lessons learned.
And there are plans to go forward, said Deb Schaber, chief executive and president of the St. Paul Festival and Heritage Foundation, the producers of Winter Carnival. “We’re planning 2022 already — the next steps. What to keep and bring back,” Schaber said this week.
One success of the 2021 Carnival was the Drive-Thru Ice and Snow Sculpture Park, which moved the ice carvings that are usually in Rice Park to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, where they were combined with the snow sculptures usually set up there. For $20, a carload could drive through and see the icy artworks. Though visitors couldn’t get close to the pieces, the drive-through “hit a lot more demographics,” Schaber said, allowing some seniors and others who couldn’t get out in the cold to see the pieces.
Schaber said 15,000 cars went through the drive-through in the 11 days it was open. The revenue from the event “definitely helped us,” and will help the organization through the summer and working on 2022, she added. The Minnesota State Fair got the revenue from the food trucks at the drive-through, and Winter Carnival paid rent to the Fair and other expenses.
A food drive during the drive-through brought in more than six tons of food and $28,500 in cash donations for Second Harvest Heartland, Schaber said.
Sales of Winter Carnival buttons, which are the largest fundraiser for the festival, were expected to be down, though totals are not in yet, Schaber said. The buttons are usually sold by “Tax Collectors” in bars and at events in St. Paul, which were restricted because of the pandemic. Winter Carnival prints 12,000 buttons each year.
The Winter Carnival Jigsaw Puzzle competition at Landmark Center on Jan. 30 was able to go on in person with COVID restrictions. A virtual puzzle event Jan. 31 was a pleasant surprise, Schaber said, with people joining online from New York, Alaska, California and other locations. Some competitors fly in for the Winter Carnival live puzzle contest every year, she added. The virtual contest “gave us a national reach we hadn’t thought about” and is likely to return.
A virtual ice fishing contest in its second year also counted as a 2021 success, Schaber said, with more than 200 anglers totaling 609 fish. And 98 entries from kids. And three scavenger hunts, which were new this year, saw 100 teams registered in each of the three categories.
The Winter Run, which typically draws 1,400 runners, had 200 at Lake Phalen this year. A planned cross-country ski event there was canceled.
And folks missing the Torchlight Parade, which is on the last Saturday of the Carnival, don’t need to feel so bad about its cancellation this year. St. Paul would have halted it, anyway, Schaber said. The city doesn’t allow outdoor events when the wind chill is 25 below, and it was minus-30 at 3 p.m. last Saturday.
The St. Paul Festival and Heritage Foundation also produces Cinco de Mayo-West Side St. Paul, which was a virtual event in 2020 because of COVID-19. Organizers are looking at plans for May 2021, Schaber said, but it’s unlikely it will be the sort of event that draws 45,000 people as it does in usual years.
Schaber is also on the board of the Minnesota Festival and Events Association, which is looking at plans and procedures for events throughout the summer across the state.
The St. Paul Winter Carnival faced extreme financial difficulties in the early 1990s, when an ice palace that coincided with the 1992 Super Bowl held in Minneapolis went over budget. The ice palace drew 2 million visitors, but construction, lighting, security and other costs associated with the ice palace totaled $1.9 million — twice as much as estimated. These bills drove the St. Paul Winter Carnival Association out of business. The event was taken over by the St. Paul Festival and Heritage Foundation, which was created that year.
The last significant ice palace was during the 2004 Winter Carnival, which coincided with the 2004 National Hockey League All-Star Game. A small ice palace in Rice Park was part of the 2018 Winter Carnival when the Super Bowl returned to Minneapolis.
Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt
Though not an official Winter Carnival event, the Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt runs during Carnival each year and was able to go forward in 2021 with COVID restrictions. This year, the hunt saw its highest number of registrations, said Lori Swanson, vice president of marketing for the Pioneer Press and Treasure Hunt coordinator.
Here are a few stats from Swanson:
- It was the first back-to-back finds for a team, although only one person is listed as the winner. This was Josh Ellington’s first find; teammate Julie Schonhardt found it in 2020.
- First time it was hidden in White Bear Lake’s West Park.
- First time it was found on Clue 8.
- This was the second medallion hidden in White Bear Lake.
- It was the 70th Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt with winning payouts equaling over $126,000.
- It was the 17th time we have given out $10,000 to the winner(s).
Copyright 2021 Pioneer Press.
