A winter of warm weather meant a Frozen Assets like we’ve never seen before. While poor ice conditions meant nothing could be held on Lake Mendota, we still engaged with community members on The Edgewater’s Grand Plaza!
Throughout its eight days, Frozen Assets not only brought the community together, but it also educated people and raised awareness for our number one asset – the lakes!
Since 2012, Frozen Assets has raised more than $1,400,000 for lake improvement projects, educational programs, and water quality monitoring. Thank you to our presenting sponsors Associated Bank and The Edgewater, and our other sponsors for making this community event possible. We’d also like to thank the dozens of volunteers who helped make Frozen Assets a success!
The changing climate and changing winter weather has meant we are thinking about runoff control and lake protection year round. Now more than ever, Clean Lakes Alliance needs YOUR help to keep our waters clean and healthy. Donate to join the alliance today and make a difference for our lakes.
Frozen Assets highlights
An exciting future for our lakes
We kicked off the week with a SOLD OUT evening fundraiser – Mendota from the Mountaintop. The themed event brought hundreds of lake enthusiasts together to celebrate our community’s biggest asset – the lakes! See more highlights from the Fundraiser.
“Frozen Lakes” 101 & Networking Event
A special edition of “Frozen Lakes” 101 featured two scientists from the UW Center for Limnology who discussed how lakes function once they freeze over. More than 100 people attended this exciting presentation! Watch the full presentation.
Community connections
Clean Lakes Alliance Community Board members and lake enthusiasts joined Clean Lakes Alliance staff for a donor appreciation happy hour. Thank you to everyone who joined us for this networking and friend-raising event!
Science of ice
While they couldn’t be on the ice, scientists from the UW Center for Limnology, UW Physics, and IceCube Neutrino Observatory gave folks at the Frozen Assets Festival hands-on demonstrations that explained more about our lakes in the winter.
Madison’s Largest Winter Workout
We couldn’t hold the Frozen Assets 5K, so instead we hosted Madison’s Largest Winter Workout! Led by experts from barre3, this workout saw over 100 people on the Grand Plaza get moving in a tailored outdoor class.
Modern dugout canoe
We were lucky enough to have a modern, 21-foot, dugout canoe made by Ho-Chunk Youth Services and Ho-Chunk Nation Culture Resources Division at Frozen Assets. It was a great way to see how the original inhabitants of this area traveled through the watershed.
Dancing, skating, and more!
Performances by Central Midwest Ballet and Figure Skating Club of Madison dazzled audiences, while kids had an opportunity to make crafts, watch movies, and see Mad Science demonstrations in the Grand Ballroom. Kids of all ages enjoyed gallons of free hot chocolate, too!
Fun and educational stops (see information below)