Celebrate the Season in St. Paul

This holiday season, downtown St. Paul is being transformed into a winter wonderland. Taking its cue from Rockefeller Center in New York City, Rice Park sparkles with a massive Christmas tree and an adjacent outdoor skating rink, plus other touches that are uniquely St. Paul. Across the street, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts presents Irving Berlin’s classic White Christmas, while the Saint Paul Hotel hosts high teas that feature a radio play of It’s a Wonderful Life. Here are all the fun ways to take part in the revelry in St. Paul during the holidays.

Destination Rice Park
“St. Paul already has that magical feel, with its historic Old World architecture,” says Sarah Fossen, director of marketing for Capital City Partnership in St. Paul. “It’s a beautiful city anyway, but the holiday season—with the twinkling white lights in the trees and all the activities—really enhances the atmosphere and mood here.”

At the heart of this atmosphere is Rice Park. Holiday décor—including statues of Nutcrackers and angels—will enliven the historic park. From Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve, visitors can experience horse-drawn carriage rides as well as Saturday afternoon carolers, children’s choirs, Santa Claus visits, a children’s train, cider and hot chocolate, and roasted chestnuts.

But the essence of Rice Park this season is the gigantic Christmas tree. Standing at about seventy-five feet, the tree rivals the famous evergreen in Rockefeller Center. From day one, the tree was a community-based project. St. Paul’s division of Parks and Recreation and the Capital City Partnership held a call for trees, in which the general public could submit an entry for trees in their yards. The Parks and Recreation forestry staff then inspected the trees and chose one that was both healthy and majestic. Once the tree reaches its holiday home in Rice Park, it will be dressed in about 20,000 multi-colored lights and lit up at the grand opening celebration on November 25.

The tree will serve as a beautiful backdrop to Wells Fargo WinterSkate on Landmark Plaza, adjacent to Rice Park. In its third year, WinterSkate has fast become a new holiday tradition for many people; in fact, about 20,000 skaters and spectators visited the rink last year. The rink is artificially chilled, which means that the temperature doesn’t need to be below zero for great ice skating conditions. Amenities include a warming tent, concessions, and an outdoor community hearth.

Although the rink is an ideal family destination, WinterSkate hosts many other functions, including corporate broomball teams and youth hockey scrimmages. It’s also more than just a skating rink. For example, Mayor Chris Coleman celebrated his inauguration on the ice. And—just as in New York—the setting has also inspired several marriage proposals and plenty of wedding photos.
White Christmas at Ordway Center
For years, the Guthrie Theater’s production of A Christmas Carol in Minneapolis was the standard-bearer for traditional holiday stagecraft. But this year, St. Paul’s Ordway Center for the Performing Arts is drawing big crowds with a stage adaptation of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas.

The classic 1954 musical comes to life in grand fashion with fifty-two crew members, thirty-three company members, twenty-five orchestra members, and fifteen scene changes. “It’s one of the largest shows we will have ever had on our stage,” says Tyra Novic Wahman, Ordway’s communications and public relations manager.

The musical—complete with a small surprise at the end—sticks closely to the plot of the original movie, in which two showbiz buddies put on a show in a Vermont inn and find their true loves in the process. Not only will the production itself exude holiday magic, but the backdrop of Ordway Center will undoubtedly enhance the spirit of the season. “Our two-story windowed foyer overlooks Rice Park,” Wahman says. “What an incredible day for families. They can have this festive day in the park and then walk across the street to see the most incredible holiday musical ever.”

White Christmas is a true community production. Actors from the play will sing at the Rice Park tree-lighting ceremony and perform in different holiday-related events throughout St. Paul. From a business perspective, Capital City Partnership and its members provided the financial resources that enabled the Ordway Center to bring such a large production to St. Paul. Ordway Center is co-producing the musical with The Wang Center for the Performing Arts in Boston and will host White Christmas every other year.

‘A Wonderful Life’ at The Saint Paul Hotel
Across Rice Park at The Saint Paul Hotel, another holiday classic entertains guests. It’s a Wonderful Life—A Live Radio Play accompanies the annual holiday high-tea tradition at the hotel.

It’s a Wonderful Life replaces the ten-year tradition of Tea with Dickens, which is now only being performed in England. The hotel’s new production is adapted from the 1946 Frank Capra film about George Bailey, the down-on-his-luck banker who learns the true meaning of Christmas after a visit from his guardian angel. The production at The Saint Paul Hotel is presented in a live-radio format. (Not without precedent: A radio version of the original film was broadcast on radio the year after its release.) The script for the current production is infused with clever ads for area businesses and other old-fashioned touches reminiscent of radio’s golden age. (Think Prairie Home Companion.) Jim Cunningham, co-founder and artistic director of the Actors Theater of Minnesota, will produce and act in the play. Executive Chef Lance Kapps will prepare the menu for the multi-course high tea that is served in conjunction with the production.

In addition to the Wonderful Life high tea, The Saint Paul Hotel offers other high teas throughout November and December, including a holiday decorating tea and children’s candy cane tea. Carolers will also regularly perform in the elegantly decorated lobby of the hotel.

Dan Dick, general manager for The Saint Paul Hotel, believes the high teas nicely complement the many other festivities happening around the city during the holidays. “Winters don’t keep us locked out,” Dick says. “The community really embraces the holiday season here.”