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Important Dates and Information

Frostbite! Gathering on Traditional Winter Skills happens every year on the first weekend in January.  This volunteer facilitated event bring together 30 instructors and 120 participants for 3 days of skill sharing and networking.  While most participants come from Alberta, we are joined annually by folks from 5-6 provinces and territories, in addition to international visitors and contributors.  Event planning, communication with participants and instructors begins in late August, with registration opening in mid-October of each year. 

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While many people come for the camaraderie of the Frostbite! community, a key feature of the event is learning, and specifically crafting.  45+ sessions happen each year, from Keynote presentations, to workshops on drop spindle spinning, fire starting, leatherwork, toboggan building, and lectures on presentations on physiology and psychology of emergency situations, and a few stories of past adventures.

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Yearly Timeline:

  • August: Event organizing begins

  • mid-October:  Registration Opens

  • 1st Weekend in January is Frostbite!

The Location

Since 2015 our home has been Foothills Camp and Retreat Centre.  This amazing facility provides 160 acres of natural areas, tenting areas, amazing bathhouse facilities, and indoor meeting spaces for up to 600 people.  There is no other camp in Alberta that can match Foothills in opportunities for hosting events.  For information on the facility, please visit their website.  During Frostbite! the cafeteria is available for pre-purchased vegetarian meals provided by their staff.

Event Policies

The goal for volunteer organizers of Frostbite is to coordinate an event that is welcoming to both old-timers and new participants.  Our participants range in age from 3 months to 80+ years of age.   With such a diverse range in age and experience, we maintain the following expectations of all participants.

  • Dogs and other Pets are not permitted at Frostbite Symposium, violators will be asked to leave with no refund

  • Event and Foothills Camp is a dry facility and consumption of alcohol or recreational substances is not permitted.

  • Vehicle parking is available in parking lots and the tenting area.

  • Unloading/loading of vehicles in the cabin area is permitted, after this, please use designated parking areas.

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