Art walk fans rejoice–more tickets are now available for the previously sold-out Comcast Luminary Loppet. This curated, candlelit walk around Lake of the Isles takes place this Saturday, January 31, and is one of the signature events in the Loppet Foundation’s City of Lakes Loppet Ski Festival, which runs from Friday, January 30 through Sunday, February 1. The new block of tickets is available due to one of several tweaks to the festival resulting from the Twin Cities’ relatively mild winter thus far.
Warmer temperatures have been a blessing of sorts for homeowners sick of shoveling snow last winter, but something of a curse for cross-country skiers. For the Loppet Foundation, this has meant moving most festival events taking place on or near Lake Calhoun up to Theodore Wirth Park where snowmaking equipment is available. No events have been cancelled, but racecourses have been adjusted to the new geography and a few options have been trimmed. In the case of the Comcast Luminary Loppet, the organizers decided to turn the event into a boots-only event (rather than one mixing snowshoers, walkers, and cross-country skiers), allowing them to increase the attendance cap from 7,000 to 8,000.
Other highlights of the festival include numerous races, dogsledding, skijoring, free tubing at Theodore Wirth Park, and snow sculpting–still at the Lake Calhoun Executive Center, thanks to the large size of the snow cubes. New events this year include Friday fireworks at Theodore Wirth Park, a team skiing event using 25-foot-long skis, and a winter version of Loppet’s Age Gap Relays.
Online registration for the Comcast Luminary Loppet is no longer available online, but the remaining tickets can be purchased at the Columbia Sportswear store in Uptown Minneapolis or (if still available) onsite.
Photo courtesy Luminary Loppet
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