'We're a winter city': Regina announces new winter festival taking place in February 2022

There was excitement in the air during the announcement in Victoria Park for an upcoming winter festival that’s slated to take over the city in mid-February.

The inaugural “Frost Regina” festival is set to run for nine days from Feb. 4 to 13.

“It is about improving our city pride, our cultural vibrancy, and that benefit to our local economy,” Mayor Sandra Masters said during the announcement Thursday morning. “It’s about socializing, it’s about that ability to connect. We’re going to be outdoors, and yes we may have to wear masks but it’ll be safe.”

The festival will be spread across Regina with four different “hubs, located in downtown near Victoria Park, the warehouse district, Wascana Park and the exhibition grounds. Each hub is supposed to have its own specialized attractions.

Tim Reid, the President and CEO of Regina Exhibition Association Limited, said that there will be something for everybody.

“No matter what your budget is, there’s something for you,” he said.

Organizers said Indigenous involvement in the event is very important. The logo for the event was created by Indigenous artist Brandy Jones.

“It’s a mixture of Metis, Inuit, Haida, and Salish,” she said about the logo’s design. “What it represents is the unity of Indigenous people. And all the bright colors represent every Indigenous nation.”

The festival is an expensive endeavor which is why the provincial, and municipal government have partnered with the Regina Hotel Association along with hub organizations such as the Regina Exhibition Association, Provincial Capital Commission, the Regina Downtown and Regina Warehouse Business Improvement Districts.

Funding for the event has exceeded $300,000 already, according to city councillor Lori Bresciani. The committee is expecting more sponsors to come forward in the coming months.

Reid is happy the festival is coming to fruition and is excited that the city will be revamping tourism in a season that almost always sees a drop off in the industry.

“This was really to embrace the fact that the city was embracing a winter city strategy,” he explained. “It was a recognition that we have to celebrate winter in this city. And when you’re a city that has as many months of winter as we do, we actually need active programming.”

The city encourages everyone to bundle up and come out and see what winter wonders are on display come Feb. 4.