This week’s deep freeze disrupted much of the country, from the relocation of the presidential inauguration indoors to the cancellation of the Twin Ports annual Martin Luther King Day march. But the weather has one silver lining: The subzero temps make for perfect conditions for this weekend’s Lake Superior Ice Festival.
The festival is one of Superior’s biggest annual events. It’s held on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 24 and 25, with a plethora of activities on Barker’s Island, along with ice sculptures popping up around the city.
“We actually measured it,” festival spokeswoman Jodi Saylor said of ice thickness on the big lake, where a new activity this year is bowling on ice. “We’ve got about 18 to 19 inches out there, so if (a bowling ball) goes through, then somebody’s really powerful!”
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Saylor spoke about the festival with WPR’s Robin Washington on “Morning Edition.” Erik Linge of Lake Superior Kubb also joined the conversation to explain his unusual sport that has become a favorite at the ice fest.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Robin Washington: Can you give us a rundown of events?
Jodi Saylor: On Friday, we’ll be kicking off at Barker’s Island with our annual Guns and Hoses Kubb Showdown, which is a match between the Superior police and fire departments. We will also have our ice carousel open and fire pits going. Midwest Ice Racing will be racing out on the lake. And we’ll have disc golf, mini golf and corn hole going on.
On Saturday, a few brand new activities include ice bowling, along with snow yoga and sled dog rides from Martens Mushing. The University of Wisconsin-Superior will have snowshoeing, and the Western Lake Superior Trolling Association will sponsor ice fishing. And the list goes on.
RW: You have to explain ice bowling. And snow yoga, too — though we have featured goat yoga in the past.
JS: They will have real bowling balls and real bowling pins, and you’ll be able to come out and try your luck bowling on the ice. Snow yoga, or snowga, will consist of adult classes and a youth session where people can come out and take a yoga class on the snow.
RW: The ice sculptures are a perennial favorite. What’s new this year?
JS: We have a new vendor who has a new and unique method of injecting paint into the ice sculptures, so they’ll come alive with different colors, logos and designs in them. We’ll have 24 sculptures located at businesses around town and more ice sculptures on Barker’s Island.
RW: Erik, tell us about kubb, beginning with where the sport originated.
Erik Linge: Kubb is an ancient Swedish game. It’s rumored to have been played by the Vikings, using the skulls and femurs of their fallen enemies. These days we use blocks of wood.
RW: Thank you for that! And the object of the game is?
EL: We use throwing sticks we call batons. And the object of the game is to clear your opposing side’s blocks of wood or kubbs. You have to clear five kubbs before you can throw at the king, which is in the middle.
RW: This is something you’re coordinating with your brother, Shane. Was this a family activity growing up?
EL: No. We came across it at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival in about 2017. We saw the Viking encampment playing it. We made a set and searched online and found out there was a whole community playing it. Eau Claire is actually the kubb capital of North America. They have the U.S. National Kubb Championship in July every year. And so we got hooked, and we started Lake Superior Kubb. Our goal is to put on tournaments and grow the sport in the Twin Ports.
RW: Going back to the deep freeze, would the ice fest ever be canceled on account of too much ice or being too cold?
JS: No. Last year, we actually did not have much ice, but we were successfully able to move all of our activities onto land. And that just showed us that no matter what conditions we have, we will always put on the ice festival.
If you have an idea about something in northern Wisconsin you think we should talk about on “Morning Edition,” send it to us at northern@wpr.org.
