Santabear returns to glory at kickoff of inaugural Winterapolis

Former Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak twerked with a 7-foot-tall, hot pink pig. But still, the crowds didn’t fill Nicollet Mall.

The smug Timberwolves mascot Crunch, menacing Minnesota United FC mascot PK the Loon, and flirty St. Paul Saints pig Mudonna zipped around the IDS Center’s Crystal Court, stealing stocking caps and horning in on TV interviews.

Rybak’s dance wasn’t an advertised attraction, but a bonus, at the Friday night kickoff of Winterapolis, a monthslong campaign aimed at celebrating winter, highlighting arts and cultural events, and encouraging more downtown foot traffic.

The Downtown Council partnered with the Minneapolis Foundation, Meet Minneapolis and downtown attractions to create Winterapolis, which kicked off Friday with the simultaneous lighting of a giant holiday tree in the IDS Center, along with about a dozen skyscrapers, businesses and streetlights across downtown. Afterward, the crowd could grab snowballs made from coolers of snow to launch at big Mortenson trucks on Nicollet Mall.

The idea is to remind people of the “magic of being downtown,” said event producer Sam Utne, by promoting old events like the Hennepin Arts’ winter performances and Minnesota Orchestra’s Nordic Soundscapes series alongside new ones, such as an upcoming Polar Bear Pub Crawl and a curling plaza on Nicollet during the Winter Olympics.

A crowd filled the IDS Center lobby for the kickoff, but Nicollet Mall was virtually empty, with temperatures in the 20s.

While Crunch, PK and Mudonna worked the crowd, a giant, slow-moving Santabear huddled on a stage behind organizers and dignitaries like City Council Member Michael Rainville, who blocked the bear from public view while a blonde woman inside took the mascot head off to get a drink of water.

Santabear, created by Dayton’s 40 years ago, trudged along with the help of guides such as Rybak.

The Santabear mascot was donated by St. Paul couple Brad and Kris Swanson, who met while working at Dayton’s and later married. They had the Santabear for 25 years before donating it to Berthiaume, who runs the annual Dayton’s Holiday Market across the street from the IDS Center.

Santabear was the subdued star of nostalgia at Winterapolis, a reminder of bygone days when you could do your Christmas shopping at Dayton’s and then catch the Holidazzle parade on Nicollet Mall.

Now, the flagship Dayton’s store is closed, although glimpses of its former glory pop up every winter when Dayton’s Holiday Market opens in the historic building.

The Santabear mascot used to be a part of the Holidazzle parade of lighted floats, which drew 750,000 people its first year in 1992. But the parade ended in 2013, and Holidazzle became a stationary winter festival.

Rybak and others said the parade could return someday, which means Santabear may yet return to her former glory atop a float.