New True North winter festival launches at SJU

The inaugural True North Festival is set to kick off on Saturday, with a month of winter activities intended to bring students together.

It will showcase new events, as well as continue traditions that CSB+SJU already has.

The festival begins with the True North Winter Festival taking place in the tailgate lot at SJU with the Center for Student Leadership and Engagement (CSLE) and Outdoor U offering Nordic skiing, curling, sledding, pond hockey, ice skating, broomball, snow sculptures and more.

Festivities will start at 12 p.m. and run until 4 p.m. that afternoon, including bonfires and hot chocolate to warm up with.

Gear for all the events is available for students to borrow at no cost.

Students can go to the Outdoor Leadership Center (OLC), at the bottom of Mary Hall, to borrow equipment and any gear, such as hats, gloves, snowpants, and more.

“We have some pretty awesome opportunities when the weather gets colder… rather than viewing the snow and the cold as barriers to engagement, I wanted to change the way we thought about it institutionally, as opportunities for engagement,” said Aaron Voth, CSB+SJU’s Assistant Dean for Student Leadership and
Engagement.

The following Friday and Saturday, Feb. 13 and 14, the Luminary Walks will be taking place between 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Candles are lit across the lake, guiding a path to Stella Maris Chapel, where there will be hot chocolate and treats to enjoy before making the trek back towards campus.

Winter Mass (formerly known as Ice Mass) will be taking place Sunday, Feb. 15, on Lake Sagatagan, organized by SJUFaith.

Both of these activities have long standing traditions at CSB+SJU.

CSLE and the OLC will partner together to bring students to Powder Ridge on Feb. 21.

Students have the choice to ski, snowboard or tube, and rentals, lift tickets and tubing are all free.

From Feb. 25 to March 1, the mall at CSB will turn into a sauna village, with four woodburning saunas, two cold plunge tubs, free towel service and a place to change into swimsuits.

The hours will be between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays, with 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. being only open to Bennies.

You must sign up in advance to reserve a spot.

“There will be professionals on hand to help you learn all the safety rules, like how long to stay in there, health benefits of sauna versus cold plunge and more,” Voth said.

The festival will conclude on Feb. 28 with the Snow Ball Dance Party taking place at Guild Hall, on SJU’s campus, running from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. with a live DJ from Los Angeles.

“We want to make our location cool. Literally, it’s cool because it’s cold, right? But also, because the campuses are so beautiful, and [the festival] just gives us a chance to show what that looks like in the winter times,” said Betsey Kershaw, Chief Marketing Officer for CSB+SJU.