Art & Sculpture #2: 7 Ice Sculpture Festivals in the US

Ice Sculpture Festival, Photo by Krenda

When you grow up in Northern Wisconsin, you have a choice to complain about the bitter cold or embrace the winter scene's beauty.  I remember as a child enjoying a winter festival in Feb. which included horse drawn carriage rides and cherries jubilee.  What caught my eye and attention were the ice sculptures, impressive pieces of art suddenly appearing on the square.

Exposure early in my life intrigued me to learn more about this art.  I continued to be captivated by ice sculptures.  I intently watched contests on cruise ships, amazed by such skill with a powerful chainsaw.  I even drove up to the largest and oldest ice festival in the United States, the Plymouth Ice Festival, in January.  We took our kids to the local ice festival in the "city of sculptures" - Hamilton, OH.  Another winter, we took them to an ice festival in Kentucky which included the artists demonstrating how to create the art from a block to the finished product, while listening to live music - so cool!

Lesson Idea

Art:  Before attending a sculpture festival, teach children that art can be made with lots of different medium - even ice!  It's also a science project as you teach children about solids transforming to liquids.

1.  Fill half gallon cardboard milk carton with water and freeze overnight

2.  Remove ice from container and stand block up in a pan
3.  Sprinkle rock salt on top
4.  Squirt colored water with eye droppers, watch the color run through the cracks

Here's 7 Ice Sculpture Festivals you and your kids could attend:

1.  Plymouth Ice Festival - Plymouth, Michigan (MI) pictured above
          http://www.plymouthicefestival.org/
2.  Stowe Winter Carnival - Stowe, Vermont
3.  Fire and Ice Festival - Mount Holly, New Jersey (NJ)
4.  The Greenbrier Festival - White Sulphur Springs, WV
5.  The Green River Crystal Classic Winter Festival - Green River, WY
6.  Ithaca Ice Wars - Ithaca, New York (NY)
7.  Titanic's Ice Sculpture Competiton - Pigeon Forge, TN

If you are making a road trip to the festival in Pigeon Forge and need to rent a cabin, check out my other blogs
 http://www.lightningbuglodge.blogspot.com/
http://www.indigomoonlodge.blogspot.com/