Frozen Fun at Ice on Whyte

A team from Sakha, Russia, chiseled away at an arch. A Latvian team placed icy flowers on frosty stems, holding them together so that they would fuse. A Chinese team worked on an icy garden scene; a dragonfly’s set of wings was complete, but the bug had no body. Meanwhile, finishing touches were applied to a neighbouring praying mantis.

The opening weekend of the Ice on Whyte festival saw competitors feverishly working around the clock to have their sculptures ready for judging. On Saturday night, the competitors scrambled to have their works prepared ahead of the Sunday deadline.

The festival, which runs until January 22, brings together some of the world’s best ice sculptors, while featuring themed sculptures at the two sites, at End of Steel Park in Old Strathcona and the Alberta Legislature Grounds.

The Chinese theme is effective. Celebrating Alberta’s twinning with its sister province of Heilongjiang, China, the displays outside of the competition made you feel like being in a frozen version of the Forbidden City. On the Strathcona side, a marvelous pagoda made of ice, surrounded by frozen lions, stands just across from a slithering dragon made of ice.

Make sure to visit after the sun goes down — the illuminations make the ice sculptures more vibrant, as they glow red, green and blue.

Three ice slides — a death-defying, double-bump daredevil chute, another with a moderate curve and a tiny one for the kids — provide the family entertainment.

Hot chocolate and coffee, with proceeds going to the Youth Emergency Shelter Society, are the only refreshments found in the warm-up tent. With many roaring fires around the site, the organizers need to think about adding to the menu. Adults pay $5 to get onto the site, and it’s not like it’s easy for the organizers to enforce an in-and-out policy. So, once on the site, even some great campfire food, like hot dogs or smores, would have been welcome.