The third annual Frost Festival has officially kicked off.
For ten days, the winter festival will run until February 4th at four-city-wide hubs, including Frost @ Wascana, Frost @ Warehouse, Frost @ REAL, and Frost @ Downtown, offering an event or activity for everybody.
Cathleen Betker, manager of major events at the REAL District and event manager for Frost, said they have done their best to make this year’s Frost bigger and better.
“We’ve done a lot of work in developing the event, progressing the way that we’re developing it. Our strategies are improving, and it’s such a great community event to bring people together,” she said.
“I think that we’ve done a lot of work making the entire experience different,” she continued. “It’s not like it was last year. If you’ve come the last two years, walking through the indoor space feels completely different. We’ve really brought up our game on those stage performances. It’s really like nothing we’ve had at Frost before. Whether you’ve got a family, some young kids, or you just want to come out for a date night, this is the perfect place to do it.”
She said with four different hubs, there will be something new and different for people to try out.
“I think it’s really interesting that each hub is offering something a little bit different and a little bit unique,” she said. “Whenever you go to the Warehouse, the Downtown, or Wascana, you’re going to experience something completely different. It’s a really great opportunity to take in something new, see a space you’ve never seen before, try something in a different way, and just get to know our community a little bit better.”
Frost @ REAL will feature GLOW, with this year’s theme being fairy-tale magic. It will also feature a marketplace with various vendors alongside attractions like the petting zoo, play zone, street hockey, and other indoor and outdoor activities.
Special events also include The Circus Hockey Show, The Silver Starlets, Magic with Sitruc James and Miss Jacqueline, the Fire Show, Big Time Game Shows, Fizzlewit’s Fairy Finding Tour, Princess Meet & Greets, Powwow Times International Dance Troop, and more.
Frost @ Downtown features skating on the rink at City Square, crokicurl, Frost Art Walk, and Frost After Dark at the downtown pubs.
Special events include a Pancake Breakfast, an Arctic Abodes Competition with the Design Council of Saskatchewan, Programming with the Creative City Centre, a Heritage Regina Lecture and demonstration, and a Polar Plunge in support of the Saskatchewan Special Olympics.
Frost @ Warehouse will offer people a chance to get a frost-themed drink from the Warehouse Ice Bar and challenge friends to crokicurl or corn hole.
Inside the heated tent, people are invited to get creative at artist workshops and as part of Frosty Pride and take-in performances by Denali of Ru Paul’s Drag Race fame. Festival goers are also invited to bring their best gear for the DJ Snowsuit Dance Party.
Over at The Exchange, people can take in the Bridge the Gap street dance festival. Additional live music programming will be happening throughout the District, including a special Listen Local concert with the Regina Symphony Orchestra.
The festival will be wrapped up with the burning (and melting) of a 10-foot ice tower.
Frost @ Wascana is centred around the rink on Wascana, which features free public skating, horse and wagon rides, dog sledding, kick sledding, indigenous games, hide tanning, and the Family Fun Zone.
The Family Fun Zone features activities from the Wascana Ecology team, Government House, EYES (Educating Youth in Engineering and Sciences), and more.
Outside the tent, people are invited to warm up around the Frost fire pits, play winter games, or climb Mt. Wascana.
