Ely Winter Festival Returns Feb. 5-15 at Whiteside Park with Snow Sculpting

Hundreds of ice candles are lighting the snow sculptures in Whiteside Park as Ely’s 10-day Winter Festival runs Feb. 5-15, anchoring a stretch of arts, outdoor recreation and community gatherings in downtown Ely. The festival’s centerpiece is an International Snow Sculpting Symposium that this year fields 14 professional carving teams, including entrants from Germany and the U.K., drawing visitors to the park and nearby businesses.

Community members gathered around a bonfire Thursday night in Whiteside Park as the festival opened, and organizers list a ceremonial program at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the bandshell. The festival website invites attendees to “Dress in your winter finest (or winteriest) for a brief performance by the Bois Forte Singers drum circle, followed by a procession to the official Ely Winter Festival fire bowl for a ritual lighting-of-the-fire by our Grand Marshall Ryan Stewart, assisted by the Ely Nordic Wolves cross country ski team.” Festival coordinator Shauna Vega summed up the program: “It’s going to be 10 days just packed full of activities. We’ve got 14 professional carving teams coming this year, as far away as Germany and the UK,” and added, “It’s just a really great time, and there’s something for everybody.”

Organizers and venues around Whiteside Park have scheduled dozens of events to complement the sculpting. Thursday night features a Meet The Snow Carvers Lodge Party at Silver Rapids Lodge with live music from Rich Mattson and Germaine Gemberling from 7-9 p.m. Friday at 4 p.m. a spaghetti feed at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church will benefit Ely Community Resource. Saturday morning at 10 a.m. the park hosts winter camping demonstrations by Northern Tier High Adventure and a snow making demo by Timber Trail Lodge. The festival headquarters at Northern Grounds, at Central Avenue and Sheridan Street, is selling merchandise and offering a warming spot between events.

Competitive and social games are part of the program as well. Organizers scheduled a Kubb Tournament on Feb. 14 at Whiteside Park - $30 per team with a two-person minimum, six guaranteed qualifying rounds and afternoon brackets - and a cribbage tournament at Silver Rapids Lodge the same day, with singles play at 9 a.m. for $10 per person and team play at 1 p.m. for $20 per team; contact Cheryl at (218) 235-9142 for details. Whiteside Park is listed at 721 E Sheridan St, Ely, MN; for general festival inquiries the park listing shows (218) 365-7669.

The festival operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and relies on donations and volunteer support, while the international sculpting roster and a 33rd edition history signal durable cultural and tourism value for Ely. For local businesses, a 10-day event with nightly lighting and scheduled demonstrations offers a midwinter revenue pulse; for residents it preserves a public winter tradition and concentrates volunteer and nonprofit activity downtown.

Through Feb. 15 the sculptures, music and community programs will continue to animate Whiteside Park. Check in at Northern Grounds for the latest daily schedule, warm up with hot chocolate at kickoff-style events, and plan for weekend competitions and demonstrations before the festival closes.