It’s bitterly cold, so of course it figures that the Art Shanty Projects open up this Saturday on Medicine Lake. If you haven't been to previous incarnations of this distinctly Minnesotan winter art festival, it's a treat worth bundling up and braving the frigid temps to see.

Each year, in the depths of winter, the Soap Factory and ASP founders Peter Haakon Thompson and David Pitman invite local artists to build, install and inhabit thematically designed ice "shanties" on Medicine Lake, creating a literal, if ephemeral, arts community open to the public. This is the sixth year.

Each year's shantytown has been increasingly fantastic — in every sense of the word — with creations and programming ranging from the whimsical and outlandishly silly to more practical or high-minded fare. What's more, I can attest to the fact that this is a Saturday excursion the kids will positively flip over. In addition to visiting individual shanties, there are lots of performances, workshops and other family-friendly arts programming in store. Plan to make an afternoon of it.

The people behind the Art Shanty Projects aim to take artwork outside gallery walls and into the public sphere, inspired by a vision that invites a wide swath of people to engage more directly with artists and their work. This year, lots of old favorites are returning to the lake: the ArtCar Taxis, Post Office Shanty and radio dispatches from K-ICE are back, as are the weekly performances at the tiny Black Box Theater Shanty and in the crowd-pleasing Karaoke Shanty.

New to the lake: a giant Alice in Wonderland-esque cribbage board, shanties specializing in aquatic research, energy innovation and "radical mapping," live music, and even some ice fishing.

Check out the full calendar of events for this year's Art Shanty Projects online. You can visit the Art Shanty Projects at Medicine Lake in Plymouth from Jan. 17 through Feb. 14.