The St. Paul Winter Carnival officially opened with a lighting ceremony of the Ecolab Ice Palace presented by SPIRE Credit Union Thursday night.

The public participated in a pedestrian parade that ended in Rice Park with the official lighting ceremony of the Ecolab Ice Palace.  The structure made of 4,000 ice blocks features six spires - each representing a member of the Winter Carnival Royal Family.  The palace also features SPIRE Archie toy trucks frozen into nearly a dozen ice blocks.

Leading the lighting ceremony was SPIRE President/CEO Dan Stoltz is also chairman of the Ice Board of Governors that raised funds for and organized construction of the palace.  An estimated 7,000 people poured into Rice Park for the first night of the Winter Carnival.  With free music and entertainment every night on the SPIRE Credit Union stage, Rice Park will be a popular and energetic destination for the remainder of Winter Carnival.

SPIRE is a proud partner of the Winter Carnival.