Despite ice not cooperating, Minnesotans push ahead with winter events

Thousands of people are expected to take part in several metro-area winter festivals this weekend. There’s a big pond hockey tournament, the Art Shanty project at Lake Harriet and a snow sculpture contest in Stillwater.

But the unusually warm, wet weather over the past week has challenged event organizers. And it’s making things tough for folks trying to maintain outdoor ice rinks throughout Minnesota.

Along the St. Croix River in downtown Stillwater, there are 12 huge blocks of snow. A dozen three-member teams from eight countries are here to sculpt the snow. The Afton Alps ski Area lent snowmaking equipment to the contest.

Many volunteers helped pack the pristine snow into large wooden forms to make the massive blocks.

“It’s brutal backbreaking work, and we love it,” said Daniel Raasch, who was helping coordinate the effort. “Yeah, it’s a lot of fun.”

Unlike some other events, the wet snow and slush have not been much of an obstacle for the snow sculpture contest. Stacie Jensen from the Stillwater Area Chamber of Commerce is one of the organizers. She says the heavy wet snow is perfect for sculpting. 

“It’s really interesting to come watch their progress. It starts out as a big block of snow and turns into amazing creations,” Jensen said. “Really, on Saturday, you start to see those come together and come to life.”’

The snow sculpting began Tuesday morning and will continue through early Saturday afternoon when awards will be handed out before a big outdoor block party Saturday evening. 

Jensen says 40,000 people attended the event last year, and she’s expecting even more this year, thanks to the warm weather. 

In Minneapolis, The Art Shanty Projects with its quirky outdoor structures has been relocated from the wet…