The 117th Annual St. Paul Winter Carnival (February 26, 2003)

The 2003 Saint Paul Winter Carnival was held from January 24th - February 2nd. This year's carnival was the 117th. The Winter Carnival remains the oldest and largest festival in the nation. It's The Coolest Celebration on Earth!

History: In 1885 a reporter in New York wrote, "St. Paul is another "Siberia" where no humans can live in winter." Back then St. Paul, however, didn't agree with this silly comment, and the St. Paul Chamber of Commerce accepted the challenge to prove that St. Paul is an exciting place to live, even in Winter. Thus, this winter carnival was born in 1886 and it's been around for 117 years since then. Sources < http://www.winter-carnival.com/history.html >

Event examples during the carnival:
The 2003 Winter Carnival Royal Coronation: The crowning of King Boreas (The god of the Winds) and the Queen of the Snows, Aurora, Grand Royal Ball, 3M King Boreas Grande Day Parade, concerts such as the Showcase Saint Paul brown bag lunch concert, kite fly, Kid's Day at The St. Paul King's Castle, skate, MSF outdoor broomball state championships (“Broomball” is like ice hockey except for using a broom, ball, and boots instead of a stick, puck, and ice skates), Single block & Multi-block Ice carving contest, Ice carving demonstrations, Yamaha snow sculpting competition, Winter On the Hill (Historical Winter Carnival treasures displayed at the James J. Hill House), Gaslight tours, Winter Carnival All Star Hockey, Seniors are Royal at The St. Paul King's Castle, bridge tournament, Klondike Kate Cabaret, bouncing team tryouts, Pow Wow, Antique sleigh and cutter rally, Vulcan (The god of fire ) Firetruck Rides, curling, cat show, orchid show, Subaru Wilderness Inquiry Experience (snow shoeing, cross-country skiing, dog-sledding), car racing on ice (on the lake), treasure hunting (the prize money for finding the medallion was $10,000), softball on ice, water skiing, Minnesota Life Frozen 5K and Half Marathon, Skijor Race (Skijoring is cross-country skiing while harnessed to a dog), Family Fiesta Day at The St. Paul King's Castle, Ice Bowl Disc Golf Event, Golf Hole-In-One Contest, Vulcan Victory Dance, Valley Lounge Bocce Ball Tournament, Vulcan (The god of fire ) Victory Torchlight Parade, Vulcan Victory fireworks, ---
Sources: < http://www.winter-carnival.com/event.html >
Visit our photo gallery page at www.exploreamerica.info to see St. Paul Winter Carnival photos.

What a disappointment! We once again had no ice castles. This would have been huge for 2003. However, there are some beautiful castle photos from the past: < http://www.winter-carnival.com/castles.html>

More Sources:
The 2003 St. Paul Winter Carnival < http://www.winter-carnival.com/ >
St. Paul < http://www.stpaul.gov/ >

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