This is a busy season for Ice Carvers in Alaska. The Ice Alaska organization is gearing up now for the World Ice Art Competition. After taking a season off to reorganize, Ice Alaska is recruiting carvers and preparing to stage their show at the Tanana Valley Fairgrounds starting February 14th. As KUAC’s Robyne reports, the organization is doing a lot of catching up.
“We started very late. We didn’t get a new board until July. So we’re months behind.”
Master ice carver Steve Brice and his wife Heather Brice have a map on their kitchen table showing a layout of the 2019 World Ice Art Competition, which will be in the woods next to the Fairgrounds.
“Big Spruce trees. Such a beautiful setting."
“In the past, the park has been cluttered, there has been chunks to trip on, and that sort of thing. Our goal is to make it pristine, so that it’s safe for everybody, like visual eye candy.”
Steve and Heather Brice were sore and tired after just finishing the single block competition at Christmas in Ice, North Pole’s December ice-carving competition and show. It opened last weekend and will continue past New Year’s Day. Ice Alaska’ larger competition opens February 14th. That’s not much time to set up for the first time the World Championships will be in it’s new home.
“We are staring from ground zero. We have nothing. Heavy equipment, “
It’s still too early to harvest the big, clear ice blocks the Fairbanks competition is known for -- The ice on the gravel pit at the end of Hanson Road is still only about 14 inches thick, but it is not too early to recruit sponsors, catering vendors, donations, and of course volunteers. To help with that, Ice Alaska is offering a ice-carving boot camp in January.
“The premise of the boot camp is our survival in Year One. The next 40 years are guaranteed.”
Brice has been making tools for ice carving for decades, and will teach anyone who wants to come how to carve. He’s not looking for people with carpentry skills nor experience; he’s throwing the door open pretty wide. And not just to locals. The Ice Alaska website says boot camp participants that come from away will enjoy lodging and gourmet meals.
Brice says it’s the ice that attracts people from so many other countries.
“Not very many places around the world are dealing with big ice.”
Sign up for the boot camp, which begins January 20th, is on the Ice Alaska website.