Memorial Union will host University of Wisconsin’s annual Winter Carnival Feb. 5-7, according to the Wisconsin Union. The three-day carnival will host over 30 events — both indoor and outdoor — including ice skating, fireworks and the iconic Lady Liberty inflatable statue floating above the frozen lake.
Feb. 5 activities include learning to skate on Lake Mendota with RecWell, taking part in Flannel Day $1 Cheese Curds and attending Wisconsin Singers Season 58: Star of the Show.
The next day, visitors can fuel up at the Pancake Breakfast and Red Bull will host Light the Lamp, a mixture of mini golf and local Wisconsin hockey culture, according to The Wisconsin Union.
The final day of the carnival will feature activities where guests can test their strength and agility through the Whitewater Kayak Ice Pulley Challenge or Ice Climbing with Hoofer Mountaineering. Indoor activities include the Wisconsin Union Chili Cook-Off and the chance to create Winter Wonderlands with Wheelhouse Studios.
Hoofer’s Sailing Club will host Snow Fort(nite) where guests can work together with the Wisconsin Hoofers to construct a giant ice fort on frozen Lake Mendota, according to Hoofer’s Sailing Club commodore Max Bublik.
“Any excuse I get to go out in the winter is always enjoyable. I love having a big community of students out in the lake,” Bublik said. “Even though it’s cold, all of us are braving it just to have fun with each other, connect more with the campus and the people within it. Honestly, it’s just really enjoyable for me to be out on the lake, and this is like a great excuse to just get out there.”
The Sailing Club will also host Snow Ball, which invites guests to dance the night away in Memorial Union’s Great Hall Feb. 6, according to Bublik. There will be Madison Swing instructors teaching swing dance at the beginning of the event, Bublik said.
The Winter Carnival has been around for close to a century, according to the Wisconsin Alumni Association. The event, originally called The Ice Carnival, has been offering Wisconsinites the chance for merrymaking in the bleak winter since 1916, according to WAA. The Wisconsin Hoofers, UW’s outdoor recreation club, has hosted Winter Carnival since 1940.
“Check it out,” Bublik said. “There’s gonna be lots of cool stuff happening.”
See the full schedule of Winter Carnival events and programming here.
