The Great Northern Festival
Get ready for The Great Northern this winter. Ten days of frosty outdoor events, music and performances, public art, and dining experiences.
Chilly days find Minnesotans rosy-cheeked, bundled up, and eager to enjoy the outdoors. Couch dwellers, we are not. With a full line-up of winter events and some serious FOMO (fear of missing out), we make sure to get out there and experience the winter wonderland that encapsulates us for a few months out of the year. We can’t wait for another year of The Great Northern festival, which celebrates the beauty of the North and the excitement of winter.
When: January 23 - February 2, 2025
Where: Various locations
The Great Northern's annual winter festival invites people from Minnesota and beyond to change their perspective on the coldest months of the year. Through its thought-provoking Climate Solutions Series, wildly popular Sauna Village, and brand-new, in addition to more than 50 events that celebrate the arts, the outdoors, and Minneapolis and St. Paul's vibrant food scene, the festival serves as a call to action to protect the season that makes this place unique.
The Great Northern celebrates our cold, creative winters through 10 days of diverse programming that invigorate mind and body. In an era of changing climate that threatens our signature season, festival programming seeks to create community, inspire action, and share the resilient spirit of the North with the world. The 2025 festival features more than 50 performances, art installations, outdoor activations, and solutions-focused climate talks. For a full list of events, take a look at the Great Northern's event calendar. Here are just a few we think you should check out:
Friday, January 24
7:00pm-8:00pm
Ice House
Indigenous Two-Spirit singer and composer Jeremy Dutcher (Tobique First Nation) makes his Minnesota debut at the Great Northern 2025 with a show at Ice House.
Saturday, January 25
1:00pm-2:00pm
American Swedish Institute
This session will explore the hidden costs of textile production and disposal, examining environmental and health impacts, innovative recycling initiatives, and the role of waste management systems, with insights from experts on reimagining textiles, enhancing material reuse, and the benefits of second-hand markets.
Saturday, January 25
7:00pm-9:00pm
The Main Cinema
Thoughtfully helmed by acclaimed director Jeff Orlowski-Yang (Chasing Ice, Chasing Coral, The Social Dilemma) and first-time filmmaker Sarah Keo, Chasing Time is a meditative exploration of time and mortality, following James and his crew as they bring the decades-long project to a close, cataloging more than one million images in the process.
Saturday, February 2
1:00pm-3:00pm
Thomas C. Savage Visitor Center at Fort Snelling State Park
Expand your understanding of the Twin Cities with a guided walk of sites with deep significance to Dakota people. Led by Dakota community members, participants will be encouraged to reconsider their relationship to land, water, sky, and all life—including other humans—through stories and perspectives that are often left out of our
state’s history.
Saturday, February 2
5:00pm–8:00pm
Silverwood Park
Play and explore with The Great Northern at Silverwood Park! Indoor and outdoor activities include a live show of Brains On!, kicksledding, illuminated fat tire biking, luminary trails, and campfires for making s’mores.
Saturday, February 2
5:00pm-7:00pm
Glass House
This pop-up by food collective K'óoben brings together some of Minnesota’s most celebrated chefs and mixologists for an unforgettable culinary experience.
