The St. Paul Winter Carnival is going strong and there’s so much to see and do. If you get a chance to check out some of the fun and craziness, don’t miss it!
One of the things that brings people to the Winter Carnival each year is the Ice Carving Competition. The competition is over this weekend, but the sculptures will be on display throughout the rest of the carnival.
See beautiful sculptures, like this “Frosty the Iceman” sculpture from a previous year. A variety of different things are used to carve, such as knives, saws, or whatever artists can get their hands on to carve through ice.
Viewing at night, you can see an ethereal effect with the lights gleaming off of the ice, or shining through it. Night is a great time to view, and with the sun setting early in winter, there’s plenty of time.
The level of detail on some of the pieces is amazing, as on this tiki scene with statues and palm trees carved out of clear ice.
The juxtaposition of the tropical scene with the frigid Minnesota winter ice creates a fanciful paradox. Ice sculptures such as this are amazing and delightful to viewers and carnival attendees.
Some are whimsical and abstract, but some depict normal, representational things such as people and animals, like this sculpture of a boy feeding an ice cream cone to his dog.
Some of these incredible sculptures depict subjects of local interest, while some have a more universal appeal. Of course, winter is a huge part of the Minnesota experience, so many of the pieces the artisans create are winter-themed. But not all, like the boy and his dog as well as the tropcial-themed tiki scene in the photo above.
The sculptures are only limited only inasmuch as the imagination of the artists is limited.
Ice fishing is very popular in Minnesota, but what about an ice fish? You might see one at the Winter Carnival.
It’s inspirational to see artists making such fine work from something we have plenty of in Minnesota–ice. Head over to St. Paul this week and check out what interesting and original sculptures the artists have come up with this year.
St. Paul Winter Carnival
Rice Park
109 W 4th St.
St Paul, MN 55102
http://www.winter-carnival.com/