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Winter events canceled due to warm MN winter
Several events are canceled due to the warm Minnesota winter, while other events will use machines to make the needed snow. FOX 9's Se Kwon has the details.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Minnesota's unseasonably warm winter has led to numerous events being canceled and postponed.
Here's a list of events that are still on and what's been canceled.
Do you have an event that should be added to this list? Email the details to melissa.turtinen@fox.com.
Canceled winter events in Minnesota
Colleen Wallin and her sled dog team take off first from the start line of the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023 outside Billys Bar in Duluth, Minn. (Photo by Alex Kormann/Star Tribune via Getty Images)
Here is a list of events in Minnesota that have been canceled this year:
- Polar Fest in Burnsville, scheduled for Feb. 10, is canceled due to warm weather.
- The Wayzata Chilly Open, scheduled for Feb. 10, has been canceled.
- The Gunflint Mail Run race is canceled due to a lack of snow on the ground.
- The final weekend of the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships, scheduled for Jan. 26-28, has been canceled due to weather. More details here.
- The Lake Minnetonka Klondike Dog Derby, scheduled for Feb. 3, has been canceled. However, the cutest puppy contest will still be held on Feb. 3.
- The John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon, scheduled for Jan. 28, has been canceled. The race is being postponed until January 2025.
- The Plymouth Fire and Ice winter festival, scheduled for Feb. 4, is canceled due to unsafe ice conditions.
- The Centennial Lakes Park Winter Ice Festival, scheduled for Jan. 7, is canceled due to warm weather and unsafe ice conditions. There will be a family dance party on Jan. 27 and horse-drawn trolley rides on Feb. 11.
- The Minnesota Ice Festival at Viking Lake, scheduled to start Jan. 7, has been canceled due to warm weather.
- The Frosty Festival in Eagan, scheduled for Jan. 12, has been canceled due to a lack of snow.
- Maple Lake Ice Fishing Derby, scheduled for Feb. 3, has been canceled due to weather and safety concerns.
Winter events in Minnesota that are still on
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Cold turn could save winter events
As temperatures finally make turn towards winter, events delayed by the mild winter have a shot to go on.
Here is a list of events in Minnesota that are still on, as of Jan. 18, 2024:
- The Ice Palace in Delano, originally scheduled to open Jan. 11, will now open on Jan. 21. It will close for the season after Jan. 28 due to warm weather.
- ISOC Snowcross National is still on for Jan. 12-13 at Canterbury Park in Shakopee.
- The World Snow Sculpting Championship in Stillwater should go on as planned. It's scheduled for Jan. 17-21.
- U.S. Pond Hockey Championships at Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis is scheduled for Jan. 18-28. Organizers said the event would be held as scheduled. However, the final weekend of the event was later canceled due to warm weather. More details here.
- St. Paul Winter Carnival is still on, scheduled for Jan. 25-Feb. 4
- Minnesota Ice Castles, originally slated to open on Jan. 13, will now open on Jan. 24. After just a week, warm weather forced the event's closure on Feb. 1.
- The Art Shanty Projects, originally scheduled for Jan. 20, will be postponed to Jan. 27 due to unsafe ice conditions. Organizers announced Feb. 1 that it would be closing early due to warm weather.
- Forgotten Star Brewing's fourth annual Bonspiel from Feb. 2-4.
- Vasaloppet USA Cross Country Ski Race in Mora on Feb. 11-12.