MINNEAPOLIS — The unpredictable winter of 2022-23 continues to throw a wrench in best-laid plans, but will not derail an eclectic and popular art festival that normally unfolds on the surface of a frozen lake.
Organizers of the Art Shanty Projects announced Thursday that slushy, unstable conditions on Lake Harriet have forced them to undertake "Plan Beach," which calls for artists to set up their structures and displays on the solid ground of Lake Harriet Bandshell Park instead.
"We started off the new year celebrating 13” of good, clear ice," explained Art Shanty Projects operations director Kerri Jamison. "Unfortunately the recent snowstorm created a warm cozy blanket over the whole lake, acting as insulation. That, paired with the warming temperatures, caused a deep slush to form on top, and the clear ice has been reduced to 6” at the site where our village should be. While 4” of ice is needed for walking on the lake, we need 10” to operate safely with crowds and structures.”
The six-person Art Shanty staff made the decision to move to Plan Beach after monitoring ice conditions and talking with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board Monday and Tuesday. Participating artists and festival performers were told the event is moving off the ice and onto land Wednesday night during a Zoom meeting.
"We cannot control these circumstances, so we respond to them creatively!," reflected Art Shanty Projects artistic director Erin Lavelle. "I’m confident that the shanty community will skillfully adjust to a new environment and make the same dazzling, community-based public art that we are known and loved for. We’re in a strong place and we invite you to come out and have a new kind of adventure with us.”
The festival opens January 21, and will run Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through February 12.
This is not the first time Minnesota's fickle winter weather has impacted the Art Shanty Projects festival. Lavelle notes that she herself was forced to evacuate her Slumber Party Shanty, set up on the surface of White Bear Lake, when temps climbed into the 40s and 50s.
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