Cold puts freeze on ‘Icebox Days’

The bitter cold snap gripping the region is putting the freeze on some “Icebox Days” events.
The International Falls Area Chamber of Commerce has decided to postpone its “Family Night in the Park,” originally scheduled for this evening, until next Friday because of the sub-zero temperatures and severe wind chill factor.
“We expect it to be cold, but not dangerously cold,” noted Kallie Briggs, executive director for the chamber.
The old-fashioned bonfire, the outdoor ice skate, and the “Sister City Snowshoe Challenge” between Fort Frances and International Falls councillors will be put off until Jan. 21.
The bonfire and public skate are re-scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., with the snowshoe race to take place at 7.
Briggs noted many small children usually come out to these events, and that it’s unsafe even for adults to be outside for long in this extreme cold.
The forecast calls for a low of minus-34 C tonight, but feeling more like minus-48 with the wind chill.
“It keeps people away. And the fire department goes to a lot of work to do it,” Briggs said. “We want to try and have it when we can get everyone to come out.”
The candlelight ski planned for tomorrow night at Voyageurs National Park also has become a victim of the weather. It will be replaced instead with an indoor screening of the movie “The Secret Garden,” beginning at 7 p.m.
Briggs said the Voyageurs ski race, scheduled for 2 p.m. tomorrow, also has been cancelled, although the annual “Freeze Yer Gizzard Blizzard” run was still on for tomorrow morning at last report.