City of Lakes Loppet Ski Festival Archives

The Great Northern Legacy Events Begin – Minneapolis, MN

by doitinnorth | Jan 19, 2025 | events/locations, evergreen

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Embrace winter at its wintry finest!

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At The Great Northern, a celebration across Minneapolis and Saint Paul, visitors and locals alike will find amazing winter sports to spectate like pond hockey, skijoring, and fat-tire bike racing along with ice and snow sculpture competitions. Not to mention food-focused events featuring our thriving culinary community, outdoor concerts, and more.

This annual celebration brings together legacy festivals, including the City of Lakes Loppet Ski Festival, where cross-country skiing competitions excite and ice luminaries delight, the Saint Paul Winter Carnival, where kings and snow queens add to the magic of the season, and the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships where locals and players around the world show off their skills on Lake Nokomis.

These legacy events along with original, uniquely North programming are largely free to attend. So bundle up, get outside, and leave the hibernating to the bears!

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Festival highlights:

The Great Northern Launch Party 2025

January 23rd

We’re kicking off The Great Northern in true Minnesota fashion! Enjoy guided sauna sessions, catch Prince’s iconic Sign O’The Times concert projected onto the United Crushers building, and sip our signature cocktails around fire pits located on the Malcolm Yards patio.

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The Great Northern Ice Bar

January 24th

The Great Northern and Minnesota Ice are teaming up to bring you a 50-foot ice bar with a menu curated by Steady Pour—featuring specialty drinks from Minneapolis and St. Paul mixologists, breweries, and distilleries.

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Jeremy Dutcher: Motewolonuwok ᒣᑏᐧᐁᓓᓄᐧᐁᒃ

January 24th

Indigenous Two-Spirit singer and composer Jeremy Dutcher (Tobique First Nation) makes his Minnesota debut at the Great Northern 2025 with a show at Ice House.

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Britt Wray and Leah Thomas in conversation

January 25th

Dr. Britt Wray, Director of CIRCLE at Stanford Psychiatry and author of Generation Dread: Finding Purpose in an Age of Climate Crisis, joins Leah Thomas, Founder of Intersectional Environmentalist, to discuss navigating climate anxiety by fostering hope through taking action and building meaningful community.

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