St. Paul Winter Carnival volunteers set aside a couple of hours on Monday to assemble window displays of historic carnival memorabilia at the corner of Grand Ave. and Victoria St.
Built into that time is more than a few moments to ooh and aah at treasures dating back to the first Winter Carnival.
It took place in 1886.
“A lot of volunteers are seeing this stuff for the first time,” said the 2026 carnival Prime Minister Tommy Barrett, who also owns much of the collection. “It’s a little bit of an effort to set up, we’ve got a lot of stuff.”
That includes a medallion (no, not the medallion for the hunt) from 1887.
A bright red Vulcan outfit.
Annual buttons as far as the eye can see… but not next year’s button just yet.
Historic lithographs of ice palaces and people taking part in winter activities.
Even those fiberglass Hi-Lex Gnome costumes, which debuted in the 1939 parade.
It’s a melding of two great cold-weather traditions; the Winter Carnival and department store window displays.
“Dayton’s used to do the storefronts, just the old days when you used to walk along the streets, look in, and enjoy,” said Barrett.
This is the second year for the display, which was very popular in 2024
“That’s why we came back this year,” said Barrett. “It’s well worth the effort.”
The display will remain up through the 140th anniversary Winter Carnival, which begins January 22, 2026.