Snow Sculpting Competition Back at Sinnissippi Park [VIDEOS]

The 29th Annual Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition is coming back to Sinnissippi Park next week. From January 14-17, sculpting teams will be creating frozen pieces of art that you will be able to view and vote for. There are two different competitions that occur. There are high school teams and state teams competing for trophies. There is no fee to take part in the competition or to view the sculptures, though donations are appreciated.

Schedule

•  Wednesday, January 14- State teams begin sculpting
• Thursday, January 15- 7 a.m.  State teams resume sculpting
•                                       Noon- High school teams begin sculpting
• Friday, January 16- State and high school teams resume sculpting (most state teams sculpt through the night)
• Saturday, January 17- 8:30 a.m. - 'People's Choice Award' balloting begins
•                                      10 a.m.- Sculpting ends
•                                      11 a.m.- 'People's Choice Award' balloting ends
•                                       1:30 p.m.- Awards ceremony begins

Get more info on the event here.

Some FAQ's about the Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition:

• The snow for the sculptures comes from the Chicago Rockford International Airport, when the runways are cleared of snow.
• Sculptors may not use any power tools or pre-fabricated molds, however axes, machetes, water buckets, shovels, ice chisels and homemade scraping tools. Even barbed wire has been used as a flexible saw in the past.
• State teams begin sculpting from snow blocks that are 6 ft. x 6 ft. x 10 ft. high. They weigh about 5,000 lbs. High school teams use blocks that are 4 ft. x 4 ft. x 6 ft. high.

Check out some monumental snow sculptures: