One week into February- the sky is a brilliant blue, the sun is shining, and the wind is not as remorseless as I’ve come to expect from winters on Lake Champlain. All in all, it’s the perfect weather on February 6th, the day of Burlington’s annual Winter Festival and Ice Walk. The Winter Festival, traditionally put on by Parks and Recreation and the Echo Center, a long with a bundle of sponsors, serves to alleviate winter tension, and gives the community something to celebrate. From the Penguin Plunge at the waterfront, to the Ice Walk on Church Street, bundled up Burlingtonites are enjoying their day.
The Winter Festival has been held every year since 1992, when it was a relatively small event. Over the years, more people have gotten involved and more events have been added, so that it now consists of a five hour day, three separate locations, and a multitude of demonstrations, workshops, competitions, and eye-catching art. In 1995, the Association International de Sculpture sur Neige et Glace officially sanctioned Burlington to hold a state-wide snow sculpting competition, a Winter Festival tradition that is still popular today.
This year, the traditional snow sculpting competition had to be altered, in light of the warmer weather and insufficient snowfall. The top of Church Street is sectioned off, and four teams are set to work on ice sculptures, rather than snow. They begin working on Thursday night, and are still hard at work on Saturday, when I arrive at the festival.
“It is a change [for the artists,]” event organizer Jessica Hyman tells me, “but they’re all very skilled in what they do. Of course, it’s a very different medium.” Sculptors are using power tools and various scrapers, each team of three hard at work. As I watch, competitors Frank Barsalow, Sean Rodgers, and Katya Andrievskaya are carving adorable penguins out of their ice blocks. A young girl with blonde hair approaches the ice penguins, looking delighted. Yet another group of onlookers is watching a woman diligently putting detail into the ice block in front of her. “It’s cool to see how they do it,” a boy near me tells his father, and the two step to the other side of the ice sculpture to gain a new perspective.
In 2007, the Winter Festival was almost done away with all together. Budget cuts for the city, specifically the Parks and Recreation department, threatened the event. However, UVM’s Community Development and Applied Economics department stepped in to help. Headed by Lynn Gregory and a group of her students, the CDAE took over most of the planning, and kept the tradition alive. In the years since, The Winter Event Planning class works closely with Nancy Bove (of Parks and Recreation) and Ron Redmond of Church Street Marketplace in order to host this well-loved community event.
How ever, the ice sculptures are not just relegated to the top of the block. Walking down Church Street, there are ice figures in front of select businesses which have chosen to participate, including The Three Tomatoes, Leunigs, The Optical Center, and Von Bargen’s Fine Diamonds and Jewelry. These businesses help support the Winter Festival, and in turn, a beautiful ice sculpture is created in front of their establishment.
“Chris Fish is a great ice sculptor, and he usually creates Ice Logos for the businesses that get involved,” says Maria Tomry, a student in the CDAE event planning class. “And he traditionally does a bigger showcase at the top of Church Street.” This year, the showcase is also a sculpting demonstration, which is taking place while I’m there. Four sculptors (including Fish,) are working on blocks of ice, creating beautiful patterns of what is a yet indiscernible structure. It doesn’t take long, however, to figure out what the final piece will be- an elaborate throne, fit for an Ice King.
The effort put in by the students of the CDAE has clearly paid off. The Ice Walk / Competition brings 4,000 to 6,000 visitors to Church Street, where they enjoy viewing the art work, as well as demonstrations and workshops located at Contois Auditorium. Radio stations Kool 105 and 99.9 The Buzz are on hand, in addition to promoting the event over the airwaves.
“We got involved when Amanda [Neubelt, a UVM student] contacted us, and asked if we’d like to support the Ice Walk.” Wendy Mays, promotions director for 99.9 The Buzz, tells me. “We have a longstanding relationship with the Church St. Marketplace, and are happy to get involved with any of the events that they hold.” She adds that the students are responsible for the bulk of the organization.
After the holidays, Church Street marketplace experiences its slowest time of the year, and the Winter Festival and Ice Walk bring a much needed energy boost, not only to Burlington citizens, but to proprietors of Church Street. The festival serves to liven up the downtown area, and always attracts a large crowd. It’s clear as ice that this event is important not only to businesses, but to the community as a whole.
Grace Spain
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