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December 10, 2015

Best of winter

Here are 20 great ways to savor the chilly season.

When we were kids, we liked winter. Remember?

We built snow forts and made snow angels. We caught snowflakes on our tongues and took flying leaps on patches of ice.

Now we've grown up, but winter still is fun — maybe more fun.

We can snowshoe up frozen river canyons and barrel through the woods behind a team of huskies.

We can explore ice caves, look for the northern lights and go to bock festivals at breweries. Sure, indoors may be cozier — but as any child knows, it's kind of boring.

Here are our picks for the best things to do this winter.

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Best bets for the weekend

Sample chocolate, run with the Santas or learn a new skill.

Where's winter? Even the Upper Peninsula is wondering. Snow is on the way up north, but it may not stick.

Might as well indulge while you wait. In Madison and the Milwaukee suburb of Wauwatosa, Metcalfe's Markets will be handing out as much fancy chocolate as you can eat at Battle of the Chocolates. We went one year and have a tip: Pace yourselves.

In Racine, the Kriss Kringle Bakery Bus Tour combines pastry stops with stories about local traditions, history and architecture.

Want to give a treat to others? Meet the decorated Canadian Pacific Holiday Train in Minneapolis tonight, St. Paul on Friday, Buffalo Saturday and Alexandria and Detroit Lakes on Sunday. It's collecting for food banks, and country singers will serenade donors.

In Duluth, the fabulous Bentleyville tour of lights also is collecting food while doling out free marshmallows, cookies, popcorn and hot chocolate.

There will two Santas at Bentleyville, but hundreds running around Chicago for SantaCon. At Navy Pier, ride the Kringle Carousel and indoor Ferris wheel at Winter WonderFest.

The festival season is winding down, but three historic villages — Old World Wisconsin near Milwaukee, The Landing near Minneapolis and Heritage Hill in Green Bay — are celebrating old-fashioned Christmases.

Eagle-watching season starts Saturday at dams along the Fox River, from Burlington, Wis., to McHenry, Algonquin and Carpentersville in northern Illinois.

Winter will get here eventually, so you may want to boost your immune system. They'll teach you how at the Driftless Folk School in Viroqua, Wis.

There are even more things to learn at the new Eagle Bluff Skills School near Lanesboro, Minn., including "Beer Brewing Basics'' Jan. 9. On the North Shore, master photographer Paul Sundberg will show you how to shoot the full moon rising over Split Rock Lighthouse on Jan. 23, and the class is only $25.

And on this year's list of cheap winter getaways, you'll find four workshops where you'll learn how to track wolves.

Whatever you do, we hope you have a fun holiday! — Beth and Torsten

Next weekend

Climb a pillar of ice or visit with St. Nick.

Ice Festival in Sandstone, Minn. There are ice-climbing and winter camping clinics, a chili cook-off, door prizes and use of demo gear in Sandstone Ice Park. Dec. 18-20.

Holidazzle in Minneapolis. It's the last weekend for this free holiday market in Loring Park, with ice-skating, choir concerts and fireworks on Sunday. Dec. 17-20.

Folkways of the Holidays in Shakopee, Minn. At The Landing, take horse-drawn trolley rides and tours of 19th-century homes given by costumed interpreters. On Saturday, there's a Village Christmas Pageant, with Santa Claus and live reindeer. Dec. 19-20.

For more events, see our Events Calendar.

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