Ice on Whyte – Edmonton’s annual Ice Sculpture Festival
During the month of January, in the area of Old Strathcona, Edmonton, you will find the annual “Ice on Whyte” Ice Sculpture Festival, named after the famous Whyte Ave in Edmonton.
The event runs for 10 days, just celebrated its 4th successful year and actually takes place a couple of blocks behind Whyte Ave, on 85th Avenue and 104th Street.
Ice carvers from across Canada, in teams of 8 or less show off their talents as they carve a sculpture of their choice out of 15 blocks of ice. The sculptures are then judged for merit, and the festival continues for a week afterwards.
My introduction to the festival was alongside a friend and took place during my lunch hour on a gloriously sunny and mild day (the best time to view the sculptures is by night when they are floodlit). Despite the bright sunshine and melting ice, the sculptures are highly impressive and I delighted at the sight of the ice turtle and the attention to detail it bestowed. Scott, my companion was more impressed with the winding ice slide and didn’t hesitate to test it out!
This year’s event, which ran from 18-28 January, boasted an impressive ice castle housing a medieval lord and lady, and built large enough for us adults to walk though. For the “kids” in the household, there was an ice sculpting contest, a knee-high maze, an ice theatre and a smaller ice slide for the younger children as well as other fun activities and contests.
All in all, a fun way to spend a lunch hour.
Check out the Ice on Whyte website for further info.
