May your weekend be filled with smiles, happiness and all the good things in life. Relax and have fun. Come to the Tanana Valley Fairgrounds, home of the World Ice Carving Championships. Judging by the crowds Saturday and Sunday, that is exactly what many people are doing. It is a beautiful day today and the slides are full of kids, big and small, zooming down the slick sheets of ice. I watched a Dad and his little boy having fun with the Corn Hole game. Dad would throw the bean bag high in the air and his son would run, squealing with delight, launch himself on top of the corn hole and retrieve the bag.

There were just as many people wandering through the woods admiring all the completed ice carvings. I heard a lot of ooohs and aaahs as they photographed each breathtaking sculpture. All sculptures are identified by name. All the competitions are finished and the winning sculptures have medals attached to the name tags. If you arrive at the park when the sun goes down, the sculptures are shown in colored lights. The sight is nothing less than magical. 

Tuesday, March 9 is the beginning of the youth competition. Between 18 and 20 hopeful carvers, ages 13-18, will be here to try their hands at ice carving in a three-day competition.  Experienced artists will be on hand to operate the chain saws and offer guidance and technical assistance. They will be carving between 9AM and 5PM. The event will end March 11, so if you can, come by and cheer on these young sculptors