WINTER CARNIVAL EVENTS
ICE CARVING
Jan 27-30: Which is more fun? Watching artists carve or viewing finished pieces under the twinkling lights of Rice Park? If you can’t decide, swing by more than once. Teams in the multiblock contest start at 9 a.m. Jan. 27 and wrap up for judging Jan. 29. The one-day single-block competition is 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Jan. 30.
MOONGLOW PEDESTRIAN PARADE
Jan. 28: Of the three Winter Carnival parades, this is the one anyone can join (we hear a snow shovel drill team is in the works). Meet at 5:30 p.m. just northwest of the Cathedral of St. Paul and wind your way down John Ireland Boulevard to several hot-air balloons tethered outside the State Capitol. Organizers may pass out blinky lights. They encourage walkers to bring their own illumination.
SNOW SCULPTURES
Jan. 28-30: In previous years, contestants carved giant mounds of snow into a pig on a full-sized tractor and a canoe under life-size snow evergreens. Watch this year’s teams work 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Jan. 28-29 at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. Or stop by Jan. 30 for judging starting at 12:30 p.m. Between noon and 2 p.m. Jan. 30, the Vulcan Krewe offers free firetruck rides, a snow maze and a mini-medallion hunt.
ART BY KIDS
Jan. 28-30: Art by St. Paul elementary students will be displayed 5-8 p.m. Jan. 28, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Jan. 29-30. A-Z Gallery, 308 E. Prince St.
KING BOREAS GRANDE DAY PARADE
Jan. 29: Snoopy is the grand marshal of this year’s parade in honor of the king of winter, starting at 2 p.m. at Fifth and Wacouta streets in downtown St. Paul, traveling west to Washington Street, then to Fourth Street, ending at St. Peter Street. Hot cocoa served afterward in the lobby of the St. Paul Hotel.
FAMILY FESTIVAL OF FUN
Jan. 29: This new event at Lake Phalen showcases winter outdoor sports. Watch Nordic ski races, speed skating, ice biking, snowshoe races and even skijoring (dogs pull skiers). Contestants will send polished wood snakes down a slippery path during “snow snake” races, and demonstrations will be offered in ski jumping, kites and youth ice fishing. Most events are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
KIDS DAY
Jan. 30: Stop by the ice cube castle contest at 1 p.m. Jan. 30 in Rice Park, then head indoors to Landmark Center for activities from 3 to 5 p.m., including face painting and an inflatable jump house in the atrium.
OTHER FUN THINGS TO DO
EVENT / SMALL HANDS, BIG HEARTS
Through Jan. 30: The Children’s Museum is making it easy to do good. Stop by stations to decorate lunch bags for Meals on Wheels, make cards for hospitalized children and create toys for animals in shelters. The museum also will collect loose change for charity and new socks and mittens for the homeless. 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. daily and 5:30-7:30 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays; Minnesota Children’s Museum, 10 W. Seventh St., St. Paul; $8.95; 651-225-6000.
STAGE / IF YOU GIVE A MOOSE A MUFFIN
Through Feb. 13: Suppose a rather large moose stopped by to visit. Suppose you fed him a muffin. Suppose he was still hungry. One thing leads to another in this musical adaptation of Laura Numeroff’s popular children’s book. The script was written by Jennifer Kirkeby, who has adapted many plays for Stages Theatre, including “The Mitten,” “The Paperbag Princess” and “Madeline’s Christmas.” See website for show times; Stages Theatre, 1111 Mainstreet, Hopkins; $15-$12; 952-979-1111 or stagestheatre.org.
EXHIBIT / SUSTAINABLE SHELTER
Through May: The cross section of a termite mound is an eye-catcher, but the main thrust of the new exhibit at the Bell Museum, “Sustainable Shelter,” is not so much animal dwellings but human ones. Learn why drying your clothes impacts the planet’s carbon and water cycles. Test incandescent and compact fluorescent light bulbs to compare their energy use. See new technologies that reduce our homes’ impact on the environment, such as electrochromatic windows that conserve heat by turning dark like sunglasses. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursday; Bell Museum of Natural History, 10 Church St. S.E., Mpls; $5 to $3 (free Sundays); 612-624-7083 or bellmuseum.org.
HISTORY EXHIBIT / MINNESOTA’S GREATEST GENERATION
Ongoing: The Minnesota History Center exhibit uses recorded interviews, photographs, film footage and hundreds of artifacts to document the experiences of an entire generation, from childhood in the 1920s through World War II and into the present. 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday; Minnesota History Center, 345 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul; $10 adults, $8 seniors and college students, $5 children ages 6-17, free for children ages 5 and younger. 651-259-3000 or www.mnhs.org.
FILM / FREE FAMILY FLICKS
Ongoing: The Theatres at Mall of America shows free family flicks every Saturday at 10 a.m. Arrive early to get a seat. See theatresmoa.com to find out what’s showing.
NATURE / BIRDING
Ongoing: See songbirds up close and watch experts band birds as part of an ongoing effort to help scientists learn more about bird migrations and habits. All ages welcome. Carpenter Nature Center has been capturing, banding and releasing birds for 26 years. 9 a.m.-noon every fourth Friday of the month, Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center, 12805 St. Croix Trail, Hastings; free; please call ahead to let them know you’re coming; 651-437-4359 or CarpenterNatureCenter.org.
Copyright 2011 Pioneer Press.
