Events Up North Feb. 2-8: 88th Laskianen Finnish Sliding Festival, First Friday

Published January 29, 2026 at 11:38 AM CST

Events this week include "Clue" and a book sale in Bemidji, Sled and Snowshoe Spectacular in Chisholm, a Jim Roelofs talk in Brainerd and Palisade's Midwinter Festival.

It's another busy week in Northern Minnesota. Here are some events to check out:

Book sale - 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at Bemidji Senior Center
Headwaters Quilt Guild meeting - 6 p.m. at A Stitch in Time in Bemidji
Cocktails for a Cause - 6-8 p.m. at Five Rocks Distilling Co. in Brainerd. A portion of the proceeds from each cocktail will be donated to Relationship Safety Alliance.

Back to Basics - 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at Pine River-Backus School. Registration required for workshops, but vendor fair and keynote address at 8:45 a.m. are free and open to all.
Crosslake WinterFest - various times and locations
88th Annual Laskianen Finnish Sliding Festival - all day and evening at Loon Lake Community Center near Palo
Palisade's Midwinter Festival - 9 a.m.-10 p.m. at various locations in Palisade
Sled and Snowshoe Spectacular - 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm
Biodiversity forum - 1 p.m. at Hope Community Presbyterian Church in Virginia, in partnership with Faithful Earth Keepers
Skating party - 1-4 p.m. at Memorial Park in Brainerd
Beginner Snowshoeing -2 to 3 p.m. at Lake Bemidji State Park
Clue - 7 p.m. at Bemidji Community Theater

88th Annual Laskianen Finnish Sliding Festival - 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. at Loon Lake Community Center near Palo
Monthly breakfast buffet - 9 a.m.-noon at the Buck Lake Community Center, located 12 miles north of Nashwauk
Clue - 2 p.m. at Bemidji Community Theater

What's going on in your community? Let us know!

Events Up North is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.