Keep in mind, we had not one but two warm spells during this 3-week event, so by the time we went some of the detail had been lost from the sculptures pictured here. They were still amazing despite the setback.
I thought this one in a First Nations booth was extra gorgeous, with its intricate design and ice "feathers" embedded in the ice bricks. The white design is not paint; it's ice too. Curiosity got the best of me, as it usually does, and I just had to snap a closeup. Next to it a Native artist was carving a totem pole.
This is... I dunno... at least 10 feet high.
If you look, this ice carver has a teeny little pink pig model sitting on top of the ice pig he's carving.
Something for the kidlets. Little figurines are frozen into a chunk of ice, and kids can don a pair of safety goggles, grab a mallet and pick, and dig 'em out. What fun! :-)
These next two are community ice carving - that is, if you want to give it a whirl, just sign in and they'll hook you up. Notice the sculptures all the way around the fountain.
It really is incredible what some people can do.
Yes, this Blackberry is really made of ice - buttons and lettering and all. For the black and red logos they cheated and added dye, but that's it. Naturally I had to touch it and check it out because I just couldn't believe it!
Canadian Space Agency - Agence spatiale canadienne
The CSA-ASC highlighted the missions of two astronauts, scheduled to fly this May. These are replicas of the space shuttle (left) and Russia's Soyuz spacecraft (right), which will be carrying them, and in the middle is the International Space Station with Earth in the background. Absolutely incredible, isn't it? There were also talks on working and living in space.
Plaque reads: "Before Midnight" by Master Ice Carver Junichi Nakamura of Obihiro, Japan. In Japan, he is a farmer, but to the rest of the world, he is one of the world's best ice carvers. An ice carver since 1982, Junichi Nakamura has competed in numerous ice-carving competitions in Canada, Europe, the United States, China and Japan. He is the recipient of many top honours and awards, including a silver medal at the Winter Olympic Ice Carving Competitions in Turin, Italy, and gold medals in Nagano, Japan, in 1998 and Lillehammer, Norway, in 1994. Junichi Nakamura is assisted by Suguru Kanbayashi, member of the Canadian Ice Carvers' Society.
These next two are "The Story of Jack Frost."
The official Winterlude/Bal de Neige photo-op. I bugged Nickie to be in the photo with me, but she was more content taking the photos than being in them. Awww.
The "Crystal Lounge" with ice walls, ice shelves complete with ice knickknacks, an ice sectional couch, and an ice coffee table. Yes, those are cell phones frozen inside the wall and table. Okay, this was completely awesome. (And sitting here is not as cold as you'd think.)
The Rideau Canal - the world's largest skating rink. This skateway is almost 5 miles long.
View down the canal
I'd say this is the way to travel. Lots of skating parents pulled their youngsters behind them on sleds. Others parents pushed strollers as they skated (obviously, strollers under these conditions were sliding, not rolling, but it works). They also have special metal "trainers" for kids who are learning to skate - these look like a walker but without wheels, and keep them from falling while they learn.
There are two of these delightful places that I know of. They take Canadian maple syrup, throw it in snow, and quickly insert a popsicle stick. The syrup hardens into a cold blob on the stick and they leave it there in the snow until you buy it. Then you pick it up and eat it before it softens and oozes off the stick. The cold blob melts in your mouth, releasing an explosion of the richest maple flavour you've ever tasted. GASP!! Heaven, I'm in heaven...
Look at all that maple goo hardening in the snow. MmmmMMMMMmmmm yummy...
Winterlude was fascinating, strikingly beautiful, awe-inspiring, educational, tremendous fun, and blissfully delicious. We can see ourselves coming back year after year!
