Bowing to poor conditions on Lake of the Isles, the Loppet Foundation on Thursday said this weekend's Luminary Loppet festival will move to shore.
Thin ice moves Minneapolis' Luminary Loppet events to shore
Approximately 16,000 are expected to attend the annual Lake of the Isles outdoor festival.
February 16, 2023 at 6:47PM
Some of the ice luminarias will still be out on the lake, but the hot cocoa, fire dancers and beer tent — as well as the 16,000 people expected to come — will stay safe on dry land after Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt this week warned of thin ice on metro area lakes.
"This year in particular, the ice is just weird," said Claire Wilson, executive director of the Loppet Foundation. Not only is the ice thin in some spots, but this week's rain followed by a hard freeze made much of the lake surface unwalkable, she said.
The timing of the rain didn't help. Even if the lake ice was deemed safe, it would take too many days to grind a new walking and ski trail on the lake's surface, she said. The good news for the foundation was that most of the luminarias they've built ahead of time survived this week's melt, and many will be close to the lake's edge to make it easier to view them from shore.
Ticket holders will start out near W. Lake of the Isles Parkway and 28th Street before heading north along the bike path on the west side of the lake. The route doubles back at Newton Avenue S. and ends back near the start at the Utepils Brewing Beer Garden. The event was originally scheduled for earlier this month but was delayed until Saturday after mild weather turned the lake ice to slush.
The Loppet Foundation was still looking for volunteers as of Thursday afternoon to help run the event.
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