- Snow sculpture
Snow sculpture is a
sculpture form comparable tosand sculpture orice sculpture in that most of it is now practiced outdoors, and often in full view of spectators, thus giving it kinship toperformance art 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 ofsnow 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.Since
1973 there has been an international snow sculpture contest during theQuebec City Winter Carnival and more recently theWinterlude celebrations (inOttawa ) have had snow sculpture events. Many U.S. states hold their own competitions with a national event being held inLake Geneva, Wisconsin each year.Perm ,Russia ;Breckenridge, Colorado ;Sapporo ,Japan ;Frankenmuth, Michigan , and theHarbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival also host snow sculpting events. TheSaint Paul Winter Carnival which hosts snow and ice carving competitions is the oldest annual winter carnival in the world, with the first one being held in 1886,Creating amateur snow sculptures is a popular pastime in some areas. They are the prominent feature at the annual Winter Carnival at
Michigan Technological University which has been a tradition since 1928. 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 40-60 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.External links
* [http://www.carnaval.qc.ca/ Quebec City Winter Carnival Official Website ]
* [http://www.mtu.edu/carnival/ Michigan Tech Winter Carnival]
* [http://www.usnationals.org/ United States National Snow Sculpting Competition]
* [http://www.gorodperm.ru/en/sif.asp "Snow, Ice and Fire!" International Snow and Ice sculpture festival in Perm, Russia ]
* [http://www.snowfes.com/english/ Official Sapporo Snow Festival site (English)]
* [http://www.travelazine.com/24 Sapporo Snow Sculpture Photos]
* [http://www.vermontsnows.com/ Snow Sculpture Gallery of Vermont, US and International competitions.]
* [http://www.winter-carnival.com/]
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