Frost Regina announced as new winter festival

How does spending a night out on the town in the middle of February sound?

The City of Regina is hoping to get people excited about just that.

Frost Regina, happening from Feb. 4, 2022 to Feb. 13, 2022, the inaugural festival will host a variety of events and activities throughout the city.

“Frost Regina will contribute to our civic pride and cultural vibrancy,” Mayor Sandra Masters said in a news release. “Regina is a winter city and it’s time for us to embrace all of the opportunities that our prairie winters have to offer.”

Activities include interactive light displays, ice and snow sculptures, outdoor fire pits and ice bars, dog sledding, an outdoor curling match between Matt Dunstone and Kevin Koe, and a pair of concerts featuring Dean Brody and Big Wreck.

Lori Bresciani is the festival’s co-chair. She’s optimistic there’s enough going on to convince people to brave the frosty weather.

“It’s about giving advanced notice, letting people know what activities we’ve got. We’re doing it collectively across our city, which is another great thing … You’re going to people wanting to be a part of it … and there’s going to be a lot of opportunity to many things,” she told reporters.

“Regina’s living skies will also become a big part of the celebration. A hi-tech drone show at Mosaic Stadium will provide futuristic entertainment for all ages,” the release said.

Admission to the show at Mosaic Stadium will be free.

The festival will be split up across four notable areas of the city: Evraz Place, downtown, the warehouse district and Wascana Park.

But no matter which area of the city you’re in, it’s likely that it will be very cold in February.

The organizers have a number of ideas to keep people warm.

Bresciani said there will be pop-up warming shelters, outdoor fire pits, and a number of indoor activities.

“I think the other thing too is the length of the festival. You’ve got 10 days, so you can adapt to the weather as well,” she said.

Funding for Frost Regina comes from the province, the city, the Regina Hotel Association, hub organizations and sponsorship.