Frost Festival opens to warm weather in Regina

Frost Festival’s first weekend was long on crowds, but short on cold.

Instead of the bitter temperatures typical for February, warm sunshine and melting snow set the tone, sending Regina families onto the sledding hill and keeping people lingering longer than usual. The unseasonable conditions changed how the festival felt, but not the reasons why people showed up.

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For Terrence Littletent, a hoop dancer with the Kawacatoose Boys, the weather made it easier to be outside and share traditional Indigenous culture. Littletent said the group has been part of the festival since its first year.

“We were asked to come out here and perform First Nation dance because the area that we’re in right now is Treaty 4 territory,” Littletent said.

Hoop dancer Terrence Littletent, of the Kawakatus Boys singers and dancers, said warmer weather made it easier to perform outdoors and share Indigenous culture on Treaty 4 territory. (Jacob Bamhour/980 CJME)

Littletent said the group accepted the invitation again this year, bringing family members and performing what he described as a family-oriented dance program focused on storytelling through movement.

“We took the invitation to come and perform some dances to the public and to share our culture,” he said. “What we have out here is all these different stories through dance narration to share a culture in a humble, respectful way to our Indigenous and non-native people who come and observe and learn.”

Warm weather is not something powwow dancers usually count on in February.

“If it was like -36 C, then we wouldn’t dance,” he said, explaining that the weather in the festival’s previous years sometimes forced performances indoors.

Unseasonably warm temperatures created slushy and icy walking conditions during Frost Festival’s opening weekend in Regina, forcing organizers to post caution signs along pedestrian pathways. (Jacob Bamhour/980 CJME)

“We enjoy dancing wherever we can.”

This year’s conditions came with some concerns, as melting snow left wet and icy patches, creating a challenge for the dancers.

“The ground is a little bit slushy and wet, and I was really worried about our dancers dancing on a wet surface and the ice,” Littletent said. “But again, we just enjoy dancing. You give us a venue, we’ll dance anywhere.”

For attendees like Riley Smith, the warm weather completely changed the experience. Smith said her niece, Paisley, was sledding comfortably, something that wouldn’t have happened during previous Frost Festivals.

Smith said this was her second year attending the festival.

“The last time it was -40 C,” she said.

Asked which she preferred, Smith laughed and didn’t hesitate.

“Definitely this,” Smith said. “It’s a little slushy out, but it’s so nice. The sun is up. No one needs to wear a jacket.”

Frost Festival volunteer Wayne Toker poses with another volunteer at the grounds during the event’s first weekend, as mild weather made conditions easier for both workers and visitors. (Jacob Bamhour/980 CJME)

Volunteers noticed the difference, too. Wayne Toker said the mild temperatures made the festival more inviting, even if it complicated some of the winter activities.

“We’ll take the nice weather with the bad weather,” Toker said. “We always seem to make do with what we got.”

He said warmer temperatures are easier on city budgets, but harder on traditional winter recreation.

“It’s good for the snow-removal budget,” he said. “But it’s not so good for winter activities like snowmobiling and cross-country skiing.”

Still, Toker said the pleasant atmosphere made the tradeoff worthwhile.

“Just seeing all the kids with smiles, that’s what it’s about,” he said, adding that volunteers are what keep events like Frost running.

“Without people who volunteer, it probably wouldn’t go very far,” he said.

And while the festival’s first weekend didn’t exactly feel like winter, Toker said no one was declaring the season over just yet.

“It’ll snow still. It’ll get cold,” he said. “It’ll be winter.”

The festival will continue to hold events over the next two weekends.