Winter is the longest and most defining season in the North. With snowy days and dark nights, this season is a time both for outdoor adventure and for gathering to share traditions, meals, and stories.
This year Winterers Gathering will welcome instructors John Beltman, Ted Gephart, Scott Graden, Bryan Hansel, and Mary Sannerud to teach courses on campus during the event. Coursework is paired with evenings of inspiring films about northern life and community gatherings such as a contra dance, featured speaker event, and more.

Presentations
Event Seminars are 45 minute presentations that cover a variety of winter-related topics: from camping tips to travelogues, cultural reflections to winter sport secrets, these inspiring talks offer something for everyone and take place throughout the weekend. Check this page later this fall for seminar details.

Skill Share Demonstrations
These short intensive sessions focus on particularly handy skills. Dress for a partially heated environment. Free to attend, materials fee occasionally applies, payable at door. Blacksmith Shop. Check this page later this fall for skill share details.

Arctic Film Festival: 17-19 Nov 2023
This one of a kind festival features films from around the globe that visually tell the story of the North. Documentaries, features and shorts showcase arctic landscapes, traditional cultures, northern adventures and changing climates. All film screenings are free and held in the Blue Building. Check this page later this fall for the film schedule.

November 17, 2023

Schedule of Event

Open Fire Dinner on a Stick and Outdoor Shorts Film Festival: 6:00pm
Gather around a bonfire and cook over an open fire as a community. Participants bring their own food; we'll provide the fire and the pointy sticks. Sausages to steaks, pudgie pies to home fries, it’s all welcome.we'll enjoy a selection of winter short films.

Snowshoe Shuffle Traditional Community Contra Dance: 7-8:00pm

-7pm: Family dance

-8pm: Community dance

Don your winter wardrobe and warm up at this friendly community contra dance. The dance takes place in the historic timbered woodshop.

Cold Snap Poetry Slam
Cold Snap Poetry Slam is a friendly celebration of the spoken word and the glories of the frozen North! Join in the fun by reading one of your own works or any selected seasonal poetry of your choosing. By sharing your favorite hibernal verse, presenters will receive wide recognition as cultural icons, as well as a free bottomless bag of popcorn for the weekend! Check back later this fall for information on registering.

November 18, 2023

Schedule of Event

9am-11am: The Great Gearand Ski Sale
Bring your outdoor equipment to sell or get in on some great bargainsand buy. Registration forms to sell your gear will be available by November 1. Backcountry skis to winter canvas tents. Ice skates to kites. Winter boots to down jackets. All are welcome.

5pm-7pm: The Deep Freeze Chili Feed
Bundle up and grab your bowl for this traditional winter favorite: chiliand freshly baked cornbread. Hot chili (your choice: vegetarian or meat) is cooked up in the kettle and enjoyed in the company of other hearty winterers. Details coming later this fall!

7pm: Featured Speaker
50 Years of Adventure Travel, Tim Cahill
 
On the eve of his 80th birthday, outdoor writer Tim Cahill will chronicle his life as the least competent adventurer of his generation. "I've exhibited legendary incompetence,” he insists. From his seminal role in founding Outside Magazine to his recently reported "death” in the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River, Cahill delights in telling odd and offbeat stories.