It's January in Jackson ... Can the Snow Sculptures be Very Far Off?

 

So the awesome ice carving competition has happened (see last week’s blog), and the ice sculptures will be hanging out at the Wentworth for the foreseeable future as long as current temps hold.  They were AWESOME!  My favorite was the Mayan Calendar … how about you? Come check them out!  It’s not everyday (or even EVER in most places) that you see such talent and variety persormed on a solid block of ice.  But here it is mid-January now, so I ask you: ‘Can the Annual Snow Carving Competition  be very far off?’  And the answer, of course,  is NO … it’s just around the corner!!

This event attracts a wide variety of sculptors, both amateur and professional. In fact, many of the Competing Teams will be using the weekend as a practice run for Lake Geneva and the Nationals. Other sanctioned states holding championship competitions include Alaska, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, and Wisconsin. Each team of sculptors consists of 2 or 3 members, and in order to be eligible to compete in the State Championship, team members must be 18 years or older and reside or work in New Hampshire. The winning team of the State Championship will receive a trophy and an invitation to compete in the United States National Snow Sculpting Competition, to be held at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin in 2014. Our New Hampshire State Sanctioned winners for 2012 was the Greg Grady, Jr. team who will be headed to Lake Geneva for the 2013 Nationals representing the entire state of New Hampshire. Dick Devellian who is from Jackson, New Hampshire, have been a past winner a few times. The winners of the Nationals then go on to compete in international competitions offered by sanctioned member countries such as Switzerland, France, Italy, Japan, Canada, China, Norway and Russia. 

Amateurs and professionals of any age are eligible to compete in the Overall and People's Choice Awards. Team members come from a variety of backgrounds including chefs from fine restaurants, architects, students of culinary and art schools, and various civic organizations. Sculptors from outside of New Hampshire will also be in Jackson participating in the invitational, exhibiting their magnificent works of snow art. Each team will be given a cylinder shaped block of snow 4 feet in diameter by 8 feet tall to create their snow sculptures. Most of the teams will start sculpting on Friday, January 25th and continue working through the night on Saturday to complete their sculptures in time for the judging on Sunday afternoon January 27th starting at Noon. Judging is based on creativity, technique and message. 

Other activities planned for the snow sculpture weekend include a welcome reception dinner, with a bon fire and roasting of marshmallows, sleigh rides and more. Be sure to check back as we get closer to the date of the event for complete details.