My Adventures in Shanty-ville

Eggrolls, ice DJs, and artistic shanties–what else is there to ask for?

By Sydney Peshon with art by Zoe Meyer

Up until this week, I always thought a “shanty” was a type of beer. As it turns out, a “shandy” is a mixed drink with half beer and half lemon lime beverage, and a “shanty” is actually a small, poorly-built shack. When I visited the Art Shanty Projects this past weekend, my expectations were proven wrong when there were no drinks in sight but rather just numerous talented artists presenting their amazing art. 

The Art Shanty Projects is a four-weekend art festival showcasing different artists and their temporary structures. This event displays many impressive, intricate, and insanely detailed ice sculptures, guaranteeing a jaw drop. The art installations are interactive and engaging, ranging from beds with blankets built from rearrangeable dyed ice cubes, a house of treasures where you can take and leave a treasure (I traded some earrings for a small chicken statue), a solitary ice tree that offered a musical place to meditate, a colorful and informational gardening shanty with hanging shoes and barbie heads on reefs, and an orange and pink orb pyramid, among other whimsical and creative constructions.  

Beyond the art installations and ice sculptures themselves, the Art Shanty Projects also honorably hosts: a quirky food truck selling specialty egg rolls, an incentive to cautiously trek over the icy Lake Harriet (a photo op in front of a snow castle), oil-painting stations, DJs on ice, a chance to read a pollination rap, and my personal favorite—kick sleds. With a latte in a gloved hand and childhood sense of wonder, my friend slid me through art installations crowded with captivated audiences, allowing me not only to get an adrenaline thrill ride but also to marvel at how mesmerizing  these mystical and surreal shanties were. Although the temperature was hovering around zero degrees, I wasn’t cold—I was Alice in Winter Wonderland. 

Wake Mag