About 4,000 lbs of ice will be carefully transported from Edmonton to Lac La Biche lake for the February 25 Winter Festival of Speed weekend.
Ice? Brought to a frozen lake? Isn't there ice, literally, everywhere? Why bring more ice to a lakeside community in the middle of the freezing northern Alberta winter?
Because this is special ice.
"We bring in ice that is specially manufactured to be perfectly clear," says Barb Marcinkoski, the Snow and Ice Director of the Sculptors’ Association of Alberta.
Five of the association's sculptors specializing in ice and snow carving will be in Lac La Biche for the Winter Festival of Speed weekend.
While race-cars, snowmobiles and aircraft will be turning the icy surface of Lac La Biche lake into a high-octane circus, the sculptors will be turning ice and snow into cold-clear art.
The association has about 60 current members, one-third work with snow and ice.
"It is quite specialized. There are ice and snow carvers that travel from around the world to carve snow and ice at competitions and symposia in Alberta. But the carvers are still pretty much few and far between," said Marcinkoski, explaining that visitors to the Winter Festival of Speed will get to see the unique process from start to finish.
"Our ice blocks will be delivered by our supplier before we get started. Our first step will be to stack and freeze the blocks together, and then we will carve the overall shape with a chainsaw," she explained, saying that each ice block is 10 inches tall, 20 inches wide and 40 inches tall and weighs 300 lbs. Each block can take the artist up to three hours to complete, depending on the design. The snow sculptures can take up to six hours to complete. "As we go, we continuously refine the shape using various tools. It will turn into art before your very eyes."
The three ice sculptures will have four blocks of ice each, and two carvings will be made from 4’ X 4’ X 8’ snow blocks.
Indigenous design and race themes
Four of the five designs suggested for the frozen art will have a racing theme. One will also have an Indigenous theme.
The artists will use chainsaws, die grinders, angle grinders, ice saws and chisels to create their projects over the two days they will be on the ice.
"With snow carving, you have an opportunity to make your work in large dimensions, especially compared to clay or soapstone carving. With ice, you gain the satisfaction of running a sharp chisel over ice to create a bevel that light shines through," Marcinkoski said, adding that Mother Mother Nature will also play a role in the process, and the time that visitors will get to enjoy them. "Both snow and ice are transient and respond differently, depending on the weather. Ultimately, they both melt – whether they were brilliant works of art or not."
Ice and snow sculptors from the association often tour and work at locations across the province over the winter months. Marcinkoski hopes it brings more people to the unique art-form.
"I think Lac La Biche residents will enjoy watching us carve ice and snow. People are usually very interested and have many questions for us. We are looking forward to coming to the Festival of Speed and seeing Lac La Biche," she said.
This year's Lac La Biche Winter Festival of Speed is celebrating 40 years. Event organizer Ken Staples says the weekend on the ice will have something for just about everyone.
Before the ice and snow carvers arrive, Staples and a small group of organizers will have their own carving to do. The construction of race tracks, a landing strip for aircraft, racing lanes for snowmobiles, visitor parking, and the snow and ice sculpture area will begin in the middle of February. The transformation will clear more about two square kilometres of the frozen surface directly in front of the McArthur Place municipal building.
More information on the Festival of Speed weekend can be found in story links at www.lakelandtoday.ca
