We couldn’t have asked for nicer weather for the fifth annual Kites on Ice festival in Buffalo, Minnesota today. It was our first time venturing out to this town of more than 16,000 residents, just 50 minutes northwest of Minneapolis—and absolutely worth the trek.

By noon, we counted more than 100 high flyers gliding through the air above frozen Lake Buffalo, many of them fancy show kites and some as long as semi-trucks. The turnout included a fanciful unicorn, regal falcon, playful zebra, tentacled cuttlefish, smiley crabs, a pink dinosaur, a Chinese dragon, a whale, several astronauts, and numerous flying pigs. (Ha! Get it?)

The lines for the Porta Potties were almost as long as the lines for hot chocolate and miniature fried donuts (this is one of the town’s biggest events of the year), but the mood was as convivial as the sky was blue. There were local DJs spinning pop music and plenty of free kid’s activities including kick sledding, snow painting, and ice skating.

Our miniest Minnevangelist, Julian, was too cool to smile in most of our pictures but he enjoyed watching the kites flutter and dance in the wind—and chowing down on matzo ball soup and pastrami and corned beef sandwiches at Crossroads Delicatessen in Minnetonka on the ride home. 🤤