The Great Northern 

About

Embrace winter at its wintry finest! 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!