Curling and Chili Contest at the Winter Frolic

Friday, February 7 saw the annual Two Harbors Winter Frolic begin with the release of the first clue for Dairy Queens’ Medal­lion Hunt. The clue was, “Whoa, where are you going?”, and subsequent clues were posted the following two days.

At 4:00 p.m., Com­munity Partners BIN­GO began at the Community Partners building, lasting for two hours and fea­turing attendees from multiple generations.

A “cold water dip” was held at 5:00 p.m. at Burlington Bay for those brave enough to jump into freezing water in February in northern Minnesota.

The Curling Chal­lenge began at 5:30 p.m. at the Two Har­bors Curling Club. Eight teams competed in four draws. These teams were LaBoun­ty Red – Mecklin, LaBounty White – Martin, Mahers Truck­ing, Two Harbors Federal Credit Union, Serco, Holden My Beer, Holden the Ham­mer, and Park State Bank. Two Harbors Federal Credit Union won the community spiel for 2025. Lake County also faced off against the City of Two Harbors in a curl­ing challenge, and the city won.

On the other side of the curling club, the chili contest was un­derway beginning at 6:00 p.m., with six contestants represent­ing local establish­ments. Children and adults sampled each of the chilis and voted by placing a plastic gold coin in the box corre­sponding to their fa­vorite chili.

VUE North at Su­perior Shores offered a delicious and spicy chili with notes of jala­peno. Moose Lodge’s chili was almost like a vegetable soup in con­sistency, with a base of corn and tomato chunks. Louise’s Place cafe offered a mild chili with chicken and cilantro, artistically ar­ranged in a paper bowl. Waterview Shores de­viated from the stan­dard chili experience to offer a white colored chili with chicken, de­scribed by one sampler as being like chip dip, but thinner. Whereas Waterview went bold, Grand Superior Grill kept their chili fairly standard, without be­ing stew-like. Ledge Rock Grille offered a unique and tasty chili experience with a meaty, smoked take on the popular dish.

When the coins were counted after the con­test, Louise’s Place came out the winner, showing the prefer­ence for a simple but artistically arranged dish.

Outside of the curl­ing club, a few events were held. For the outdoor and winter inclined, a snowshoe hike was held at the Lake County Fair­grounds, and for those who preferred drinks and live music, bands played at Castle Dan­ger Brewery, Moose Lodge, and the Amer­ican Legion. A frozen t-shirt contest was also held at the American Legion.

By the time Friday ended, the winter frol­ic was underway and ready with new events slated for Saturday.