Snow sculpture - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Snow sculpture is a sculpture

Sculpture

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...

form comparable to sand sculpture or ice sculpture

Ice sculpture

Ice sculpture is a form of sculpture that uses ice as the raw material. Sculptures from ice can be abstract or realistic and can be functional or purely decorative...

in that most of it is now practiced outdoors, and often in full view of spectators, thus giving it kinship to performance art

Performance art

In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...

in the eyes of some. The materials and the tools differ widely, but often include hand tools such as shovels, hatchets, and saws. Snow sculptures are usually carved out of a single block of snow

Snow

Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...

about 6 to 15 feet on each side and weighing about 20 - 30 tons. The snow is densely packed into a form after having been produced by artificial means or collected from the ground after a snowfall.

Events

There are a number of international ice and snow sculpting events around the world.

United States

The Saint Paul Winter Carnival

Saint Paul Winter Carnival

In 1885, a New York reporter wrote that Saint Paul was "another Siberia, unfit for human habitation" in winter. Offended by this attack on their Capital City, the Saint Paul Chamber of Commerce decided to not only prove that Saint Paul was habitable but that its citizens were very much alive during...

which hosts snow and ice carving competitions is the oldest annual winter carnival in the world, with the first one being held in 1886.

The annual Winter Carnival

Michigan Technological University's Winter Carnival

Michigan Technological University's Winter Carnival is an annual celebration that takes place every winter in Houghton, Michigan. It is a time to celebrate the large amounts of snowfall Michigan's Upper Peninsula receives each winter...

at Michigan Technological University

Michigan Technological University

Michigan Technological University is a public research university located in Houghton, Michigan, United States. Its main campus sits on on a bluff overlooking Portage Lake...

has been a tradition since 1922. These sculptures are not carved from a single block, but rather many blocks made over a month. For this reason, they can grow quite large (Up to the regulated 28 feet tall and sometimes over 80-123 feet long). Each year a theme is given for the winter carnival and the statues are created in the set theme. Student groups compete against each other in different divisions. Many U.S. states hold their own competitions with a national event being held in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

Lake Geneva is a city in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 7,148 at the 2000 census. A resort city located on Geneva Lake, it is southwest of Milwaukee and popular with tourists from metropolitan Chicago and Milwaukee.-History:...

each year.

Frankenmuth, Michigan hosts a massive snow and ice sculpture festival in late January with teams traveling to carve from all over the globe. Frankenmuth's Snowfest consists of many ice carving competitions and snow sculpting competitions at elementary, high school, state, national, and international levels.

The Breckenridge International Snow Sculpture Championships in Breckenridge, Colorado

Breckenridge, Colorado

Established in 1859, the historic town of Breckenridge is a home rule municipality that is the county seat of Summit County, Colorado, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the town had a population of 4,540. The town also has many part-time residents, as many people have vacation homes in the area...

began in 1990. A group of local snow sculptors called Team Breck, which was part of the Colorado State Snow Sculpture Championships held in Breckenridge, joined with the city and Breckenridge Ski Resort

Breckenridge Ski Resort

Breckenridge Ski Resort, or just Breck, is perenially one of North America's top 2 most visited ski resorts, and is located in Summit County, Colorado in the town of Breckenridge...

to begin an annual competition. In 2009 teams from China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

and other countries competed. The winner was Team Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

- Yukon

Yukon

Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....

, led by sculptor Donald Watt.

Canada

Since 1973 there has been an international snow sculpture contest during the Quebec City Winter Carnival

Quebec City Winter Carnival

The Quebec Winter Carnaval Festival events include a winter amusement park, with attractions such as skiing, snow rafting, ice sculptures, snow sled-slides and outdoor shows and is usually held in February....

and more recently the Winterlude

Winterlude

Winterlude is an annual festival in Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec that celebrates winter.Winterlude is run by Canada's National Capital Commission and was started in 1979. The event is one of Ottawa's most important tourist draws, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year...

celebrations (in Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

) have had snow sculpture events.

External links

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