REGINA — The City of Regina announced major details about the inaugural Frost Regina winter festival coming this February, a new tourism bid for the city’s coldest months of the year.
Frost Regina will take place from Feb. 4-13, with a number of activities and events taking over multiple areas of the city including downtown, in Wascana Park and at Mosaic Stadium.
Festival events will include things like outdoor skating at an ice rink in City Square, horse and wagon brewery tours through the Warehouse District, and dog sledding and sleigh rides in Wascana Park.
A winter concert series will take over downtown restaurants and bars downtown, and Queen City Pride will be holding a light parade.
An interactive light display and outdoor art installations — including snow sculptures — will also be on display, and fire pits and warming lodges will be set up for visitors to take a break from the Saskatchewan cold.
Country music star Dean Brody and alt-rock group Big Wreck will also be performing concerts for the festival, and the City of Regina has organized a free drone show in Mosaic Stadium.
The winter festival is a first for the Queen City, and organizers are looking forward to bringing the signature celebration to the city.
“It is rewarding to see the vision of this festival coming to life,” said city councillor Lori Bresciani, co-chair of the Winter Festival Committee. “I am so looking forward to seeing the community take part in the joy, fun and magic of winter in Regina.”
The city has been working in partnership with several local organizations to make Frost Regina a reality, including REAL, the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District, the Regina Warehouse Business Improvement District and the Provincial Capital Commission.
Events will be funded thanks to support from the provincial government, the City of Regina and the Regina Hotel Association, among other organizations and individual sponsors.
The idea for a winter festival came from a desire to boost the tourism sector during the slow winter season, and to show off the potential for cold-weather tourism in the Queen City.
“Frost Regina will animate our capital city and inspire residents and visitors to embrace the snowy season,” said Jeremy Harrison, minister responsible for Tourism Saskatchewan.
A Frost festival pass will be required to access activities held at the Regina Exhibition Association Limited grounds, but events held downtown and in Wascana Park will be free of charge.
In the midst of festival events, Regina will also be hosting the SaskTel Tankard Provincial Curling Championships on Feb. 9-13, at the Co-operators Centre. Tickets for this event will be separate from Frost passes.
More information, including a full schedule of events, can be found on the recently launched event website at frostyqr.ca.
More details about events at each of the four specific Frost Regina host areas will be announced closer to the festival's dates.
