Yes, it’s a winter carnival, but there is such a thing as too cold.
Daunted by forecasts of a bitter freeze this weekend, organizers of the St. Paul Winter Carnival have decided to shorten Saturday’s Torchlight Parade and may scrap it altogether.
If the projected wind-chill factor dips to 20 below for Saturday, planners may have to cancel the downtown parade, said Kate Kelly, CEO and president of the St. Paul Festival and Heritage Foundation.
Kelly said the organization expects to make a decision by noon today.
Kelly made the call Thursday to condense the seven-block evening procession to three to five blocks. A final route hasn’t been set. Five of the 102 marching units already have pulled out due to cold weather.
“We need to think of safety first,” Kelly said. “The bands are worried about instruments. We encourage (the musicians) to get on the buses and play out the window or just wave. We just want to keep them safe.”
In 1996, that scene awaited parade-goers in minus-21 weather as the University of Minnesota Alumni Band played from the bus as it rolled down the street. That year, the procession was shortened, and a third of the parade entries canceled. Also that year, organizers called off the dogsled races and postponed several other events.
And in 1989, an estimated 25,000 spectators stamped their feet in 9-below temperatures during the Torchlight Parade. Some musicians dunked their instrument valves in anti-freeze, while other groups pretended to play as they marched to taped music.
Carnival spokeswoman Mary Huss said some of this weekend’s contracted events, such as the softball-on-ice tournament, could be in jeopardy because of the frigid temps. However, she had not had official word from tournament organizers.
Planners had not drawn a new parade route as of late Thursday afternoon. Weather reports predicted a high of zero degrees for Saturday and a low of minus 11.
John Moore, the carnival’s parade chairman, bristled at the idea of an abbreviated procession. “My position is they either have it or cancel it,” Moore said.
“If it’s just three blocks, they’re going to have to find another parade chair. That’s insane,” he added. “Does it make any sense to you? If you were a parade unit, would you want to come and stage and prepare, (only to) go for three blocks?”
The battle between fire and ice – or King Boreas and Vulcanus Rex – couldn’t be more dramatic during the carnival’s 10-day run. The arctic blast, which likely will result in the coldest weekend of the winter, represents a huge swing from the 41-degree warmth that ushered in the festival on Jan. 26. Several ice sculptures crashed to the ground on opening day.
“I think this is the carnival of extremes,” Kelly said. “It’s been extremely interesting to watch this weather. We’re finally delivering Siberia.”
Fans traditionally look to the Torchlight Parade as a capstone to carnival activities. According to legend, it represents the Vulcan Krewe’s dethroning of the ice king, Boreas Rex, and the coming of milder temperatures. As originally planned, this year’s parade would end with fireworks over the Mississippi River.
Last summer, when the foundation ruled to eliminate one of the two parades to save money, many carnival fans, including former legend characters and downtown businesses, rallied to save the tradition. Volunteer groups pledged to raise $60,000 to preserve both parades and a regal coronation, held downtown last Friday.
Laura Yuen can be reached at lyuen@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5498.
Copyright 2007 Pioneer Press.
