Winter Fest begins today with an NMU Wildcat-themed open skate at 8:30 p.m. at the Lakeview Arena, Olson Rink. 

The open skate event is free for NMU students with free ice skate rentals while supplies last. Winter Fest will also feature two more open skates at the Lakeview Arena, Olson Rink. The first will be on Feb. 3 at 8:30 p.m., the other is on March 16 at 7 p.m. 

In the past, Winter Fest at NMU was a week-long event that led up to a basketball game. Now, Winter Fest is a semester full of events to keep students active, busy and social during the sometimes dark days of the winter semester. 

The Special Events Committee, the student organization planning Winter Fest, also plans to bring back a few fan favorites from previous semesters as a part of the festivities this semester, according to their Instagram.

On the schedule for February is Mocktails on Canvas in collaboration with the Art Therapy Club.

For the month of March, in addition to open skate, there will be a dive-in movie at the PEIF in collaboration with Campus Cinema. 

In April, the Special Events Committee will host Singo and a Lip Sync Battle in collaboration with the Student Athletic Advisory Committee.

All of these events fall into the theme of Stay Tuned … Sitcoms in the Snow. Through this theme, the Special Events Committee hopes to bring the home-like feeling of watching sitcoms to Northern students.

Students can stay tuned to these events by following the Special Events Committee on Instagram @nmu_specialevents.