The popular National Ice Carving Competition will return to Ottawa this year, as the Winterlude festival goes digital for the second year in a row.
The competition sees pairs of carvers from every Canadian province strive to complete an ice sculpture in a 20-hour time limit from a raw block of ice. Last year’s event was won by a pair of brothers from the Ottawa region. Viewers will be able to vote for their three favourite sculptures online, with the most popular taking top honours.
The Ice Carving Competition was originally meant to be the centrepiece of Winterlude’s return to in-person celebrations, including a three-week Snowflake Kingdom event space, but these plans have been temporarily shelved due to public health reasons.
This year’s sculptures will use the theme “Olympic and Paralympic Spirit”, inspired by the 2022 Winter Games, which will be taking place at the same time. The competition will be remote, with carving taking place in an outdoor location in each province. Ontario’s sculptures will be carved in front of the Capital Information Kiosk on Wellington Street, while Quebec’s site will be Jacques-Cartier Park in nearby Gatineau. Competitions like this often use tools like poster printing to attract audience members and competitors.
The National Ice Carving Competition will take place on February 5 and 6. Votes will be open to the public online between February 11 and 20.
