Chill Out: Festival launch party

Join us to kick off The Great Northern 2023 with a "festival eve" outdoor winter village at Surly Brewing’s Beer Garden. The outdoor event will offer a dynamic set by multidisciplinary producer DJ Cassieopia and a participatory sing-along with Minnesota Public Radio’s Bring The Sing. Enjoy mouthwatering beverages and food from Vikre Distillery, Surly Brewing, and Caribou Coffee, and wander the space to take in art projections by Montréal-based studio Iregular and installation art by Aaron Dysart commissioned by Green Minneapolis and Mississippi Watershed Management Organization. Bask in a Stokeyard Outfitters saunas or hot tub, tour an Xcel Energy EV garage, check out Polestar’s electric vehicles, and explore a curated selection of fashion finds from Minnesota-based reseller Noihsaf Bazaar. Get a taste of what's to come for The Great Northern 2023 and beyond—invite your friends and celebrate the North with us!

Green travel made easy! Metro Transit is offering free rides on bus and METRO lines in partnership with The Great Northern Wed, Jan 25, from 5-9 pm. Download your pass.

About the event offerings and participants:

Cassieopia is a community organizer and leader with a strong lineage stemming from the first Black neighborhood to develop in Saint Paul: the Rondo Community. She has DJ’d as well as played her beats at live events all across the Twin Cities on stages such as First Avenue/7th Street Entry, the Walker Arts Center, Guthrie Theater, and one of the Midwest's largest music jubilees, SoundSet music festival, on the Last of The Record Buyers Stage. As an advocate for local artists, she understands the importance of providing opportunities for marginalized BIPOC residents. From the beginning of her career until now, she continues to use DJing not only to uplift the vibe of any room, but also as a tool toward causes that aid in social justice.

Minnesota Public Radio’s Bring The Sing is a community sing-along celebrating music’s power to inspire and create connections between us. Sing song selections alongside your neighbors, fellow music-lovers, and even some special guests. No matter your ability, all voices are welcome at this free, fun celebration of wintertime and community.

Founded in Montreal in 2010, digital art studio Iregular creates audiovisual installations, large-scale sculptures, architectural projections and scenographies, with a focus on interactive and immersive experiences. At the crossroads between art and technology, these artworks experiment with geometry, light, sound, typography, mathematics, algorithms, communication protocols, AI, and machine learning. Iregular also develops its own proprietary technologies. Catch their four-part installation of Our Common Home in Lowertown, Saint Paul, during the run of the festival.

Aaron Dysart is a sculptor fascinated with the intersection of human existence and wilderness. Often seen as adversarial or framed in terms of stewardship, implied distinctions in this intersection prove to be as permeable and fluid as they are compelling. This fascination is filtered through a study of objects and materials, interventions, and spectacle, and is always driven by the desire to gain understanding as a small part of an all-engulfing system. He has shown nationally and partnered with organizations including the National Park Service, Army Corp of Engineers, Mississippi Park Connection, and Woodwell Climate Research Center. His work has been in publications such as Art in America, Hyperallergic, Berlin Art Link and he has received grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board, Forecast Public Art, the Knight Foundation among others. Aaron is currently St. Paul’s Artist in Residence through Public Art Saint Paul and operates his studio practice in Minneapolis. Following Chill Out, his sculpture will take up residence at Peavey Plaza in downtown Minneapolis.

Stokeyard Outfitters provides services that deliver authentic Sauna experiences virtually anywhere, from wellness programming at venues like the Hewing Hotel, to mobile sauna rentals throughout the Twin Cities Metro. As the science catches up to the well known health benefits of Thermaculture, and the popularity grows, Stokeyard Outfitters rolls ahead bringing magical Sauna experiences your way.

Host or Publisher The Great Northern