It always feels so damn cold this time of year! I blame it on the lack of feasible options of things to do in winter.

Stupid Edmonton and the weather.

Whoa, wait up a second timotheories! You told us weeks ago that there is lots to do in Edmonton in the winter because we are a festival city. That our mindset is often our biggest problem and that it’s all about getting out there and trying new things especially things which don’t fit into our comfort zones.

Oh right, I forgot about that for a minute there. Must’ve had brain freeze or something.

Well I’m glad you are keeping me accountable dear readers. I don’t know who else would otherwise. And if that was the case, this blog would slip into anarchy. And we’d see burnt out cars or worse. Though the warmth might actually be worth it…

No! I’m just kidding. Let’s refocus.

I definitely don’t want to read in the papers that several of you decided to take lighter fluid and set a bunch of property on fire to simultaneously keep you warm and entertain yourselves.That would be terrible.

Instead, I want you to get outside and explore our river valley and our parks this winter season. With just 10 weeks or less of winter to get through, we aren’t going to be able to enjoy this opportunity for much longer. Especially because February is the month of “love” or “love hatred”, mardi gras, and groundhogs. Then we move into March which ushers in green beer, Easter, spring, and madness.

So January really is the best time to try something new and exciting.

Okay we’re convinced timotheories, what should we do this January that is so timely and appropriate for you to bring up today?

Have you heard of the company Ice Castles before? Well, Ice Castles is a Utah based “entertainment” company that has a very niche purpose. That’s right, you guessed it, they build large scale ice castle sculptures by hand and give you the opportunity to walk, squeeze, slide, and crawl through them.

I haven’t actually been yet myself, but this is the very first time they’ve come to Edmonton. The company has been constructing these ice castles since 2009 in many of the colder states of the United States. And even better, we are the first Canadian city to get the opportunity to experience this amazing structure. Apparently it had been drawing crowds since before it even opened at the end of December.

If you want to visit the Ice Castles you’ll have to buy your tickets before the end of March (weather permitting), and they definitely do sell out each day, sometimes a week or two in advance. I’ve personally got tickets for this Friday night and I can’t wait to take my girlfriend to go see it. If you’re interested in checking it out, the Ice Castles are open at Hawrelak Park between 3-9PM Monday-Thursday (except Tuesdays), 3-10PM Fridays, noon-10PM Saturdays, and noon-8PM Sundays.

 

I was fortunate to find out about this from friends and my good friend Douglas from How-To-Douglas finally reminded me enough times that I made the commitment to check this thing out.

Earlier in the year, just before New Years Eve, I made a promise to my girlfriend that I would take her out every Friday night for food and some sort of activity, and the one caveat is that we do something NEW once a month.

Well, Ice Castles is that thing for the month of January. And I’ll do what I can to let you guys know if it was worth it when Friday is all said and done.

And that’s all the theories I’ve got for Timely Thursday my friends. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I’ll check you back on Sunday evening something rather stimulating.

Tim!