MINNEAPOLIS - This time of year Minnesota has many heart-warming, yet frigid traditions, such as Thursday night's Winter Carnival in St. Paul to the upcoming weekend pond hockey tournament in Minneapolis.
"I left 80 degree weather to come up here,” Kelly Eckersen who is from Florida. “We love the people of Minnesota. We love the Winter Carnival.
But for the first time this year, all those traditions are now part of a bigger celebration over the next 10 days called the Great Northern Festival.
"We’re excited about the foundation that were laying this year,” said Carson Kipfer, co-commissioner of the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships and part of The Great Northern leadership team. "Instead of apologizing for the weather, let’s embrace winter and all the awesomeness that comes with it."
Call it a small preview to what we'll see when the biggest show in the world comes to town next year, he says.
"Next year it will be the 10 days leading up to the Super Bowl. So while we have visitors from all over the world here, they’re going to be able to experience these great events that we all love,” he said.
And unlike festival food we've enjoyed in the past, Chef Adam Eaton says they've added northern fare to this new branded festival.
"We're doing a whole sturgeon. That’s exciting,” he said.
The executive chef at St. Dinette also said Spoon and stable and the Bachelor Farmer will be teaming up to provide a 100 seat table for people to enjoy northern food like fish and sausage.
"It's part of our culture. It's one of the most important things in culture,” he said of food.
For more information about the festival, click here.