Winter carnival makes the most of the Minnesota cold

Wednesday, January 31, 2018
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WPVI) -- The Super Bowl might be the biggest celebration in Minnesota this week, but it's not the only one!

Action News took a trip to see the St. Paul Winter Carnival on Wednesday, a place where uniquely carve ice is its forte.
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Formed in the late 1800's, it's the oldest winter festival in the United States.

The area at that time was just a frozen tundra, and our Canadian friends to the north mocked the locals for settling here.

That's how the winter carnival was born: to prove vibrant beautiful scenery could actually come from ice.

The crown jewel of this year's winter carnival is a 70-foot tall frozen ice palace shimmering in the middle of the park.



Tons of ice were cut from a nearby a lake to create this towering structure.

It's tradition in these ice palaces to have some unique items inside. Here they have the walleye - it's a staple fish here in Minnesota - then there's also pennies that people are sticking to the ice possibly for good luck
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Five thousand blocks of ice carefully sculpted and laid in place all to impress those visiting this historic winter carnival.

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