Vandals in Lac La Biche destroyed in one night what took talented ice-carving artists days to create.
Ice carvings left on the frozen surface of Lac La Biche lake to be admired by residents after they were created during the February 24 Winter Festival of Speed weekend have been smashed to pieces.
One of the three ice sculptures — a representation of an eagle — was damaged sometime between February 26 and 29, say winter festival organizers. Two other ice carvings, one depicting a walleye fish and the other of a wolf, were damaged sometime in early March. As of March 7, two snow carvings, one of a large bear and the other of an Indigenous chief that were left in the same area have not been damaged.
Mel Kuprowsky, a member of the Winter Festival’s planning group noticed the initial damage last Friday.
At that time, Kuprowsky said the eagle sculpture had been broken.
“A wing and the head were knocked off the eagle…one wing was still standing,” he said.
Just days later, however, Kuprowsky noticed the wolf sculpture had also been smashed.
Protected by a wall
The ice carvings and the snow sculptures were all left on the ice after the annual winter event as a unique outdoor, winter tribute. The pieces were surrounded by a small wall of snow to protect them from vehicles, and to make the area clearly visible to any snowmobile or ATV riders in the area.
Kuprowsky’s best guess is that the initial vandalism happened sometime overnight on Thursday, Feb. 29. When he saw the damage on Friday, he said there were no tire tracks or signs of other vehicles that might have struck the carving.
Keeping an eye on the remaining carvings over the next few days, Kuprowsky said when he went down to the ice on the night of March 5, the wolf and parts of the walleye carvings had been damaged.
The experience of seeing the artwork vandalized, Kuprowsky said, is “very sad. It’s disconcerting.”
The carvings were created by professional ice and snow-carving artists who were invited to this year’s Winter Festival of Speed. The eagle was created by Christian Denis, the wolf was made by Randall Fraser, and the walleye was made by Jeremy McConville. All three artists are members of the Alberta Sculptors’ Association. The pieces, carved from singular blocks of ice, took dozens of hours over the weekend event to complete.
Kuprowsky said these statues were a popular attraction with people both during and after the Festival of Speed, he said.
It’s the second year that the ice carving displays have been part of the community’s long-running winter event. Last year three sculptures were relocated from the ice and placed in McArethur Park near the bandstand gazebo. None of those sculptures were damaged by vandals.
Lasting effects
Kuprowsky says the incidents have left a bad taste — are could even affect decisions for expanding the unique ice features at future festivals. He says the local Lion’s Club, where he is a member, has received additional funds for next year’s event to create a snow maze and ice slides.
“I’m beginning to wonder whether I want to spend $20,000 to build an ice slide and a snow maze if it’s just up there for a weekend and then vandals come and destroy it,” he said. “We’re hoping that the stuff can be there for kids to use.”
If such an ice playground does get built next year, he would like to see it located at McArthur Place where it will be under the watchful eye of security cameras.
Asked as to what could have motivated someone to vandalize these statues, Kuprowsky assumes it’s nothing more than stupid behaviour.
“I think it’s just plain stupid…it’s stupid motivated,” he stated.
Ken Staples, the event coordinator for the Winter Festival of Speed, said someone’s moment of stupidity has taken away something that many more people could have enjoyed.
“Many people were driving onto the ice to view them, and we anticipated that would continue as long as conditions would allow,” he stated.
Residents in the area have been asked to check any security cameras, and Lakeland This Week has asked municipal officials if CCTV cameras at a nearby water lift station would have any footage.
While local authorities might be aware of the incidents, Kuprowsky said the vandalism hasn’t been reported to the RCMP.
