Winter Survival Guide

Not flying south for the winter? Don’t feel bad—or even cold. Here are 28 reasons why Minnesota’s coolest months are actually the hottest, offering the year’s best opportunities for arts, adventure, and inspiration.

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Get Out

GOT CABIN FEVER? TRY THESE CURES.

Party Arty

February 13

Preview party for Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton
The season’s most star-studded affair, and not just because of the hip crowd that frequents these popular parties at the Walker Art Center. The exhibit, by Elizabeth Peyton, features drawings and paintings of pop-culture icons and their tabloid equivalents across the pond, from Kurt Cobain to Princes William and Harry. Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis, 612-375-7600, walkerart.org
 

Play in the Snow

December 6

Weihnachtsfest
This small-town winter festival in Biwabik features the usual crafts, cakes, and candies as well as Christmas carols in the park, a lighting ceremony, and fireworks. But no other celebration is so near the Giants Ridge Snow and Ski Resort, ranked No. 1 in Minnesota by SKI magazine, with 35 downhill runs, miles of cross-country trails, a luxurious lodge, and spa facilities. Ski all day and head into town at night for the festivities. Biwabik, 218-865-4183, cityofbiwabik.com
 

Hit the Ice

January 17 to February 14

The art Shanty Projects
Ice shanties are great—if you’re into ice fishing. Or, in this case, art. Working with the Soap Factory gallery, artists create funky variations on the Grumpy Old Men theme in this temporary colony on Medicine Lake. Call it an ice crawl: karaoke in one shanty, others hosting music and dance performances—even yoga. And, of course, the colorful, artistically designed architecture that makes these shanties anything but shacks. Medicine Lake, Plymouth; visit artshantyprojects.org
 

Meet the Party Animals

February 14 to 16

Minnesota zoo’s Tropical Beach Party
Step out of the cold and into the tropics without leaving Minnesota. Calypso music, zookeeper talks, the state’s largest indoor sandbox, and plenty of humidity help melt the winter chill as the zoo’s Tropics Trail is transformed into an exotic paradise. Minnesota Zoo, 13000 Zoo Blvd., Apple Valley, 952-431-9200, mnzoo.com
 

Stay Cool

January 22 to February 1

St. Paul Winter Carnival
If we’re all going to freeze, we might as well have fun doing it—that’s essentially the rationale for St. Paul’s annual Winter Carnival. And all the usual highlights are back, including ice sculptures, coronations with Klondike Kate and the Vulcan Krewe, the torchlight parade, the Frozen 5K race, and—many people’s favorite—free ice-skating outside Landmark Center. Visit winter-carnival.com or call the St. Paul Festival & Heritage Foundation at 651-223-4700.
 

SURVIVAL TIP

Jazz Up Your Dinner

Want some crab legs with that crooning? There are more restaurants around town with live jazz than you might imagine, each as different as the mood you’re in.
 

Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant
As the best-known jazz venue in town, the Dakota continues to serve up such big names as Ahmad Jamal and the Bad Plus, alongside award-winning cuisine. 1010 Nicollet Ave., Minneapolis, 612-332-1010, dakotacooks.com

Café Maude
The hip Café Maude has the best of the local cutting-edge cats playing against the clink of cocktail glasses. 5411 Penn Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612-822-5411, cafemaude.com

Cavé Vin
The quietest and classiest of the bunch, Cavé Vin pairs French fare with live jazz on Wednesdays, featuring such smooth vocalists as Rhonda Laurie. 5555 Xerxes Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612-922-0100, cave-vin.net

Crave
This suburban spot at the Galleria offers Friday night jazz with top local talent and no cover charge. 3520 W. 70th St., Edina, 952-697-6000, cravemn.com

Cue at the Guthrie
This über-stylish hot spot has perhaps the best backdrop for weekend jazz with its high glass walls and riverfront location. Dinner is accompanied by light jazz but after the kitchen closes, the lounge starts swinging. 806 S. Second St., Minneapolis, 612-225-6499, cueatguthrie.com

Artists’ Quarter
Owned and operated by musicians, this Greenwich Villagesque venue is the most intimate, strictly jazz locale in town, offering a mix of out-of-town guests and regular local performers, such as Kenny Horst on drums and Pete Whitman on saxophone. And if you want something to eat with your entertainment, it’s a little-known fact that you can order in from the nearby Wild Tymes Bar & Grill or Great Waters Brewery. 408 St. Peter St., St. Paul, 651-292-1359, artistsquarter.com
 

Get Smart

CLASS IT UP WITH NEW SKILLS

Learn to Tango

First week of every month

Four seasons’ Tango lessons
No need to hit Buenos Aires when tango lessons are easily accessible at Four Seasons Dance Studio. Sign up for one class or more, with new classes starting the first week of each month. Practice classes between lessons are just $2 on Tuesdays. 1637 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612-342-0902, fourseasonsdance.com
 

Learn to Figure Skate

Beginning January 10

Sportquest Skating academy
Unless you’re 8, you may have to put those dreams of being the next Olympic figure-skating champion on ice. But it’s not too late to go from clutz to triple lutz. At the Parade Ice Garden, the SportQuest Skating Academy offers a range of 10-week learn-to-skate classes for tiny tots and adults alike, instructing you in everything from salchows to toe loops to simply staying on your feet. 600 Kenwood Pkwy., Minneapolis, 612-207-5046, paradefsc.org
 

Learn to Make Sushi

January 17, 26, and February 14

Cooks of Crocus Hill and Kitchen Window
Love sushi but didn’t think you could make it without formal training and a month in Japan? With the right teacher, learning to turn raw fish into exotic delicacies may be easier than you think. Both Cooks of Crocus Hill and Kitchen Window offer enough instruction to have you hosting your own sushi party in no time, with chefs on hand to ensure you get it. Cooks’ “Crash Course in Sushi,” with chef Jonathan Kaye, is offered at the 50th and France and Grand Avenue locations and gives you an overview; Kitchen Window’s “Sushi for Beginners” class is three hours of the need-to-know basics. Cooks of Crocus Hill, 877 Grand Ave., St. Paul, 651-228-1333, and 3925 W. 50th St., Edina, 952-285-1903, cooksofcrocushill.com; Kitchen Window, 3001 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis, 612-824-4417, kitchenwindow.com
 

Learn to Snowboard

Beginning January 4

Women’s College at Afton Alps

Stop wondering what all those crazy kids are up to on the peaks while you’re weaving your way downhill on two slabs of pine. And do it without the snotty bro ’tude: Take the five-week Women’s College snowboard program, for ladies only, at Afton Alps and learn to board with the big dogs. 6600 Peller Ave. S., Hastings, 651-436-5245, aftonalps.com
 

Learn to Ice Climb

December 20 to March 14

Vertical Endeavors’ Ice Experience
Why sit and stare at a frozen waterfall when you can climb it instead? At the new Minnesota Ice Park in Sandstone’s Robinson Quarry Park, about an hour north of St. Paul, Vertical Endeavors offers ice-climbing lessons a couple Saturdays a month. Soon you’ll be swinging ice axes and clambering up cascades like a polar explorer. Robinson Quarry Park, Sandstone, 651-776-1430, verticalendeavors.com
 

Learn to Throw a Pot

January 4 to March 1

Northern Clay Center
Memories of Ghost notwithstanding, you know what you could create with a little clay and a wheel—a mess, probably. Which is where the instructors at the Northern Clay Center come in. They won’t hold your hand Patrick Swayze–style, but they’ll certainly guide you through the basics. 2424 E. Franklin Ave., Minneapolis, 612-339-8007, northernclaycenter.org
 

Learn to Draw a Nude

January 5 to February 23

Minnetonka Center for the Arts
Ever watched one of those artsy flicks where a cadre of bohemians are cooly drawing a model on a pedestal? Where exactly does one go to do such a thing? In the Twin Cities, head to the Minnetonka Center for the Arts, where a “Life Drawing” course will take you through the fundamentals of technique, composition, proportion, and, ahem, general anatomy. 2240 North Shore Dr., Wayzata, 952-473-7361, minnetonkaarts.org