In just a few hours the horn will blow, indicating the end of the Double Block competition. Hopefully all the sculptures will be completed by then. I have so many favorites that I would be a terrible judge; they should all win. Judging will be tonight and the award ceremony will be tomorrow night, the 27th. *Fun insert: I have just been asked to be a spotter. When the horn blows at 9:00PM, the carvers must place all their tools down and step outside of their carving area. After the spotter sees that they have done this, the carvers are allowed back into their area in order to clean it. They have one hour of clean-up time before the judging commences.
Most of the sculptures are now recognizable in reference to their names. Lifts are still being made on some, heads or other body parts need to be attached to some, while others seem complete and undergoing final grooming. There is one sculpture that is hidden, waiting for its big reveal. You can see parts of it but the final project is meant to be a surprise. It promises to be really special. The Double Block has half the carving time of the Multi-Block and half the number of carvers, so it is impressive they can accomplish so much in so short a time. The details and finesse are more honed and precise with the smaller number of blocks. Adjectives that come to mind are fabulous, charming, fun, flirty, elegant, exciting, delicate and whimsical. You get the idea.
When you visit the park and need to warm up, stop by the Public Warm Up building. Linger for a hot cup of chocolate and a cookie or two. Check out the gift shop area. There are many fun trinkets that will remind you of your visit to the Ice Art Championships. There are t-shirts and sweatshirts, of course. They also have pins, magnets and ornaments, hand engraved from Alaskan Alder. I treated myself to a beautiful ceramic coffee mug today that says Ice Alaska. The colors of the mugs remind me of Aurora colors. Postcards have been printed of all the sculptures, beautiful mementoes to keep or send to friends. Browse through the impressive collection of frameable prints of ice sculptures from past years. Stop by just to say hello to the lovely ladies. Ask them to share some of their great stories with you.
While wandering around, you often will see volunteers doing maintenance on the slides and sculptures in the play area. The slides are worked on regularly to keep them smooth and slippery and fast! They are a huge favorite with everyone. I watched the other night as a little boy perched on top of one of the slides. He obviously was a little hesitant about coming down. So, he had help. His brother gave him a surprise push and down he went. He decided it was fun after all, laughed all the way down and turned around and headed for the top again.
Come over and check out the ice sculptures. Tomorrow night the Double-Block will be back lit with colored lights. They are sure to enchant.
