Coon Rapids Closes Snowflake Days With Free Family Fun on Ice, Capping a 62-Year Winter Tradition

Coon Rapids, MN

As winter loosens its grip on the calendar but not yet on the ground, the City of Coon Rapids will bring its signature cold-weather celebration to a warmhearted close Sunday evening with Family Fun Day at the Coon Rapids Ice Center. The free community event, scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 8, from 5 to 7:30 p.m., serves as the grand finale of the 62nd Annual Snowflake Days, a citywide tradition that has anchored Coon Rapids’ civic calendar since 1964.

Snowflake Days runs from January 30 through February 8, 2026, offering a ten-day stretch of winter activities designed to foster community connection during Minnesota’s coldest weeks. Family Fun Day, its closing chapter, reflects the festival’s enduring ethos: accessible, intergenerational, and unapologetically joyful.

An Evening on the Ice

The Sunday night festivities unfold in two acts at the Ice Center, located at 11000 Crooked Lake Boulevard, with programming that moves from the outdoors to the warmth of the arena.

From 5:00 to 6:00 p.m., families are invited onto the outdoor rink for skating and playful competitions, including ice bowling, dice games, and limbo. At 6:00 p.m., the celebration transitions indoors, where the main rink opens for free public skating until 7:30 p.m. Skate rentals are available for those without their own equipment, ensuring the event remains open to newcomers and seasoned skaters alike.

City officials describe the evening as both a celebration and a send-off, a communal pause before the routines of late winter resume.

A Festival That Spans the City

Family Fun Day arrives after a full slate of Snowflake Days programming that stretches across Coon Rapids. Earlier on Sunday, residents gather at the Coon Rapids Civic Center from 8 a.m. to noon for the Waffle Breakfast and Senior Bake Sale, a morning tradition that doubles as the festival’s official awards ceremony. Winners of the medallion hunt, snow sculpture contest, and other Snowflake Days competitions are formally recognized there.

Among the festival’s most anticipated traditions is the medallion hunt, a decades-old citywide scavenger search that sends residents combing parks and trails for daily clues. The 2026 hunt concluded on February 5, when the medallion was discovered at Thorpe Park along the Marshland Trail. The finder is eligible for a $500 cash prize, contingent on possession of an official 2026 Snowflake Days button.

Equally visible is the snow sculpture contest, which transforms front yards into temporary galleries of packed snow and imagination. This year’s entries were unveiled through a self-guided tour map released February 5, allowing residents to view sculptures from their vehicles as winter weather permitted.

Symbols, Volunteers, and Giving Back

Threaded through Snowflake Days is Rocky the Raccoon, the city’s beloved mascot, who appears at events and anchors the festival’s visual identity. The 2026 Snowflake Days button, featuring Rocky, was designed through a student art contest for grades 5 through 12, reinforcing the festival’s emphasis on youth involvement and civic pride.

Behind the scenes, Snowflake Days is organized by a volunteer committee, a structure that has sustained the festival for more than six decades. Proceeds from select events, including the Chili Challenge and Waffle Breakfast, often support the Coon Rapids Community Strength Foundation, which helps fund community staples such as the city’s Fourth of July fireworks and summer concert series.

A Closing That Looks Forward

In a city that has grown and diversified since Snowflake Days’ founding in the mid-20th century, the festival endures by remaining simple in its promise: shared experiences, open doors, and winter made less isolating through community. Family Fun Day at the Ice Center, with its free skates and easy laughter, offers a fitting conclusion.

Additional details, schedules, and updates for Snowflake Days are available through the City of Coon Rapids’ official festival page.

MinneapoliMedia