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Canada
is draped in all-whites in winters and there is not much to
showcase outdoors. Says who? Well, there’s a lot what one can do
with that white champagne powder, a local moniker for snow. Canadians
celebrate the deep freeze with as much fun as the summer thaw and
Alberta’s SnowDays Festival, held annually in January at Lake Louise
is a cool tribute to this chill.
The emerald-green lake Lake Louise, nearly 200 km west of Calgary and situated off interstate highway (Hwy 1), stands frozen spotless white post October, though in summers, it glitters like an emerald in a ring. Tom Wilson, horse wrangler for the Canadian Pacific Railway, credited with ‘discovering’ the lake, had named it the Emerald Lake in 1882. It was later renamed Lake Louise in 1884 to honour Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. This beautiful lake,
which inevitably freezes in winters, is a part of Banff National Park
and becomes one of the venues for the month-long carnival, the
SnowDays Festival. Skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, dog-sledging,
sleigh rides, ice-canoeing, mountaineering, human curling, ski-fit,
snow hockey…. The list seems endless on what can be done on a total
of 7,700 acres of the carnival terrain, which ranges from easy slopes
to steep mountain troughs.
The idea of hosting the festival was developed by the Banff Lake Louise Tourism in collaboration with its members as a means of celebrating winter in traditional style, and as a means to drive visitation to the community and national park in what is supposedly a quieter time of the year. This year, the festival began on January 12 and ends today (February 10). What, however, took the cake in this ‘brrrr’ event was the 14-day long international ice-carving competition called the Ice Magic Festival. The centre piece, an integral core and the most-anticipated spectacle, this ice-sculpting marvel ran parallel for a fortnight to the month-long SnowDays Festival. Technically speaking, this 19th ice-carving festival was a separate breakaway activity held at the same venue. It began as an event presented by the tourism bureau in 1994 to increase footfalls to the destination. The Ice Magic Festival
galvanised tourists from far and wide, including neighbouring
provinces as well out of country. It took place between January 18 and
27 and drew admirers in tens Hosted by the Fairmont
Chateau Lake Louise, beneath the Victoria Glacier in the imposing
Rockies, this 34-hour ice-carving competition drew as many as 24
shortlisted internationally recognised professional ice-carvers. A
theme is given each year. Some earlier themes had been Magical
Madness, Rhythm of Nature and Word Play. This year’s theme was Carve
a Song.
Applicants were selected on the basis of their experience, creativity and interpretation of the theme. This good mix of select international carvers, who came from Russia, Sweden, the Philippines, the Netherlands and the US, besides locals from Canada, worked in teams of two to sculpt towering art forms from imposing blocks of solid ice on the shores of the frozen lake, based on the given theme. With each ice block weighing a monstrous 135 kg, this exceptional art form involved precision, dexterity, artistry, physical labour and precarious balancing. A single mistake could melt all sculpting efforts away. The winner team was given a cash prize. Other prizes included the People’s Choice, Carver’s Choice and Fairmont’s Choice awards. Besides this high-calibre biggie, on the sidelines were the other ice-carving events such as speed carving and family fun ice-playground events. A block of ice was given to each carver who had to finish the task within an hour at the speed carving event. As a part of the family fun, kids and families participated and learnt the art and science of ice-carving first-hand. This snow festival of Alberta is different from the festivals held in the rest of the Canadian provinces. It lasts for a whole month and encompasses a huge breadth of cultural as well as athletic activities. The Ice Magic Festival is unique to Alberta as it brings ice sculptors from around the world to compete in a themed event that is open for the public to enjoy from start to finish. Though this year’s festival has ended yet these frigid ice sculptures will remain on display for visitors to enjoy and marvel all winter long.
BROAD
BRUSH
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