Polar Bear Run and Salute to the Sun — Friday, January 23

The Salute to the Sun. On Friday, January 23, just before dawn, a parade of students, staff and faculty will march from the University of Chicago’s Henry Crown Field House to the City’s Promontory Point in an effort to coax the sun to appear. By the lakeshore, they will perform the annual yoga ritual known as Suryanamaskar, or “salute to the sun.” The salute to the sun is the culmination of a week’s worth of early morning calisthenics based on the samurai concept kangeiko, meaning “winter training.”

Promontory Point Park, 5491 South Shore Drive, is at the eastern end of 55^th Street in Hyde Park.

The Polar Bear Run. At 3:00 p.m on Friday, more than one hundred scantily clad —or unclad— students will dash across the University’s Main Quadrangle in the annual Polar Bear Run.

The University’s Quad is at the intersection of University Avenue and 58^th Street in Hyde Park.

Why?
The Polar Bear Run and Salute to the Sun are part of the University of Chicago’s weeklong Winterfest, which was inspired by the Eskimo tradition of Kuviasungnerk. An Eskimo word meaning “happy times,” Kuviasungnerk embraced the cold with five days of unique winter events.

For more information on Kuvia, please contact Josh Schonwald at 773-702-8359 or 917-821-8655 (cell).