Check Out This Winter Festival That’s the “Sustainability-Focused SXSW”

Planning your winter travel? If you’re a fan of all things festival and have attended (and loved!) SXSW in the past, then you’ll want to be sure to add this Minneapolis and St. Paul event to your calendar.

The Great Northern Festival kicks off Jan. 26, 2023. For 10 days, visitors enjoy an array of live performances, food and drink, outdoors and sports experiences, and illuminating speakers. The festival’s focus is one part what all the northerly region has to offer, one part climate change. From public art to live podcast recordings, film screenings to keynote speakers, you’ll walk away from this festival having explored a potentially new side of the country while also opening your mind to some possibly unexpected global ideas.

The 2022 festival included unique events such as the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships, Saint Paul Winter Carnival and panels and talks on topics like brewing, the ski industry, underrepresented climate heroes, climate change’s impact in Minnesota and more.

While the 2023 festival events have yet to be announced, you’ll be able to find those events on the festival’s main pagelater in the year. Whatever you’re into — from food to sports to climate action to the beverage industry to literature — you’re bound to find something on the schedule to pique your interest.