The Great Northern Festival Celebrates Winter

Brace yourself, there are still at least three months left of winter in the Great North. The Great Northern Festival was created to help Minnesotans embrace (see: tolerate) the sub-zero temps by getting folks out of the warm embrace of their one-piece jammies and out enjoying nature. And bars.

The Great Northern Festival is a ten day event that includes culinary focused outings like a happy hour in historic Rice Park, a gathering at Surly beer garden featuring an outdoor sauna, a candlelit North Loop dinner by chefs from The Bachelor Farmer and Spoon and Stable, a dinner from the chefs behind Revival, Saint Dinette, and Corner Table in St. Paul and a bar in the middle of Lake Nokomis. “The seasonality of Saint Paul and Minneapolis is what drew me back home. The cold, the snow, all of it shapes our story in the kitchen,” said Gavin Kaysen, executive chef and owner of Spoon and Stable. “When the snow falls, we share meals that warm the soul.”

The Great Northern was founded by event leaders from the City of Lakes Loppet Ski Festival, the Saint Paul Winter Carnival, the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships and Eric Dayton of Askov Finlayson, and presented by Target.

“These unique winter experiences across Saint Paul and Minneapolis offer something for everyone, and they all tap into the same spirit of camaraderie and celebrating the cold and snow that is fueling The Great Northern,” Dayton said.

The robust list of events, starting on Friday, January 27 and culminating with through the 8th annual Beer Dabbler on February 5, is available at TheGreatNorthernFestival.com, event page on Facebook or Instagram @TheGreatNorthernFestival, and on Twitter @GreatNorthern.