2010 Saint Paul Winter Carnival Countdown

The St. Paul Winter Carnival is starting to drum up support for its 2010 festival!

For $124, you can "own" a piece of the "Coolest Celebration on Earth." For the third year,  Saint Paul Winter Carnival officials are selling stock in a block of ice to help support the festival's signature ice carving contest.

Each block is $124 in honor of the carnival's 124th year.  "Stock Holders" get an official certificate of ownership.  The first 124 to purchase stock will also have the chance to march in the Grande Day Parade on Saturday, January 23.

Those interested can buy the ice online at www.winter-carnival.com or call 651-223-4700.

Additionally, Winter Carnival dignitaries have unveiled the Saint Paul festival's 2010 button designs.

The buttons depict a bearded Vulcan wielding a torch, the cool blue Winter Carnival royalty, Klondike Kate singing into a microphone, a bouncing carnival-goer in midair and a bright red snow shovel. The buttons are $5 each or $20 for all five.

They were designed by Kirk Lyttle, an illustrator and graphic artist at the Pioneer Press.

(So amused that's a Star Tribune article, by the way)

Buttons are available at Cub Foods, SuperAmerica and other area stores, as well as on the carnival's website. For more information, go to www.winter-carnival.com.

The 124th Saint Paul Winter Carnival will take place from January 21 through 31, 2010.