St. Cloud Diving Into Winter With New Festival

(KNSI) – The St. Cloud Downtown Alliance is embracing the city’s chillier side with a new event scheduled for late January.

Bold + Bright will take over the historic business district for four days beginning on the 25th of next month. Visit Greater St. Cloud Executive Director Rachel Thompson says the festival will bring new things to the area and mark the return of some cherished traditions.

“Bold + Bright is that winter initiative for the end of January, post-holiday season. Embracing that bold Minnesota winter, anything from an outdoor movie on Friday night, curling in the street, and then the big one is the night parade followed by a laser light show on Saturday night.”

There will be an ice carving demonstration, a dance party, and Sunday brunch. This year’s movie will be Super Mario Brothers, one of the top hits at theaters in 2023.

Organizers are ready for the cold, but it is also prepared if mild conditions persist. Thompson says they have thought of everything, snow or shine.

“So, luckily, the snow event pieces are not actually contingent on real snow. They’re renting an inflatable curling rink to be able to use right on the street. There’s not going to be actual ice flooded for it, so no matter what the weather conditions look like, we still are going to be able to have those happen.”

Thompson says a real winter not affected by El Niño is great for tourism. While she is excited to have year-round flights between St. Cloud and Mesa return, data shows that Arizonans are as intrigued by the cold as they are by lake fun in the summer.

Bold + Bright runs from the 25th to the 28th, a long weekend designed to attract visitors from out of town.

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