Lake Harriet Ice Shanty Projects

ly made by event staff with the safety of visitors and artists in mind.

Wind reddens the faces of locals as all eyes focus on the cleared patch of icy stage for the American Ice Theater skaters. The cold doesn’t stop the creativity of the performance: vibrant leg warmers adorn the skaters’ high kicks and layers of gloves protect their hands as they synchronously twirl, and glide as one.

This year the dancers unlace their skates and move ashore to the beaches of Lake Harriet as recent weather changes have led to the deterioration of the ice on shanty’s usual home Bde Maka Ska. The transition to land was disappointing but a necessary precaution easi-

“The clear ice has been reduced to 6 inches at the site where our village should be. While 4 inches of ice is needed for walking on the lake, we need 10 inches to operate safely with crowds and structures,” Operations Director Kerri Jamison said in a news release.

Rain, shine or beach, the show must go on. Artists’ installments are open to the public every weekend 10 am to4 pm from January 21 until February 21. The entirety of the festival spreads across the shore into Lake Harriet Bandshell Park,and the picnic grounds. There will be different performances every day, a schedule is available on their website. schedule of perfor- mances. The event is free and en couraged for all but a donation of $10 to $20 is suggested, all proceeds go to the artists and event staff. nels were elaborate ice sculptures of astronauts and animals which were popular photo spots. There was even a bean bag tossing game where the target boards were made out of ice. Campfires were strategically placed around the area for visitors to warm up after playing in the snow.

The Shanty Project is truly wel coming for everyone, accessibility accommodations are available for each preformance and work, such as headphones for particu larly loud events, warnings be fore flashes of light and sudden sounds and ramps and kicksleds for mobility challenged visitors.

The project strives to have something for everyone as it is a month long festival. Though its focus is quirky whimsical and all things art, performers and artist have a wide diversity of things to offer.

It took about an hour to get through all of the main attractions while taking photos but once the ticket is paid for, visitors can stay as long as they want which makes the price reasonable. A majority of the visitors were families as the activities were catered more towards children, but the slides and tunnels appeared to be equally as fun for older visitors. It is definitely a unique and visually pleasing experience especially for those that have