Renowned ice carver coming for Winterfest
In Prince George, we are winter. It’s such a cold, hard fact that world renowned snow and ice artist Peter Vogelaar is coming this weekend to play in our elements for himself. The man who has wowed audiences at some of the most prestigious winter events on the globe will be one of the feature attractions at Downtown Winterfest on Sunday – and it’s not even his first time.
Although this event is only two years old in its present form (it was an idea that evolved out of Downtown Prince George’s mirror event Summerfest and the 2015 Canada Winter Games), Vogelaar was here last year with little prior fanfare. Those who saw him work, though, marvelled at his sculpting skill.
“I’m just happy that this year you guys have snow. Last year, you didn’t have snow until right up to the event, then you got a dump, then a warm snap, and it was not easy to make things look as good as you hoped they would,” he said. “This year, the forecast looks absolutely perfect.”
Vogelaar will be working in carving partnership with fellow snow sculptor John McKinnon, one of his frequent collaborators. McKinnon is a highly respected artist in his own right.
They get to town much earlier than Sunday. A lot of prep work goes into these massive carvings, and the setup is what dictates how the final image is going to look.
“The plan is to come in and go out to Ness Lake on Wednesday (to extract blocks of ice),” he said. “Viking Construction is bringing us a truck to help get the ice out of the lake and get it into town. And then we start work right away. It takes more than one day to do it. We will work first on the ice slide (yes, an ice slide, where kids of all ages can make like it’s summer
Last week I was in Kingston and I had a bit of extra time so I thought I’d do one of Gord Downie who is from Kingston.
— Peter Vogelaar
in the park); we’ve got a really nice spot for that. Thursday, we will start packing the snow blocks for the snow sculpture and this year we plan to make it look like a fallen tree with some plastic culvert used to let people slide right through it. It’s a nice way to do it because the culvert prevents any chance of cave-in. It’s all safe, but it still works as a tunnel within the sculpture.”
Kids in grammar school can make snow forts with tunnels and slides. A world champion like Vogelaar promises to make this ephemeral art into a selfie magnet. Even when the weather isn’t ideal and the final work isn’t exactly what he wanted, his work never fails to gather crowds and inspire oooohs and ahhhhhs.
“Last week I was in Kingston and I had a bit of extra time so I thought I’d do one of Gord Downie who is from Kingston. It wasn’t very good, from my perspective, because it was quick and the snow wasn’t setting very well, but it was a major hit. The public thought it was great. That’s what matters. It’s all about giving people a visual experience they will remember.”
Vogelaar grew up in a family that valued and encouraged art. He also grew up loving winter. He doesn’t dream of tropical beaches; instead he fantasizes about the snowy cold of this less popular season.
“You just have to dress for it and you’ll be fine,” he said. “You can always add a layer if you’re too cold but what do you do when you’re too hot?”
The only exception is when he attends sand sculpting events like the one he recently did in India. But he was there for the art and the culture, not the weather.
“When I started, the goal, the initial motivation, was to win a trip (a carving contest offered that as a top prize, and he won it) to Carnaval in Quebec,” Vogelaar said. “I heard about it in 1992, and now it’s taken me to 18 different countries. We represented Canada at the Olympics in Nagano, and got an Honorable Mention there. I was able to go help carve ice with an American fellow at the Salt Lake Olympics. And then at the Winter Games in Italy we won first place and won the People’s Choice award and the Volunteers’ Choice award. It was kind of a pinnacle in the snow sculpting world and I was proud of it.”
The all-local winter action hap- pens Sunday at Veterans’ Plaza in front of City Hall from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Downtown Prince George executive director Colleen Van Mook itemized some of the highlights on the Winterfest agenda.
“Bring your hockey sticks to play a road hockey game with the Spruce Kings and the Cariboo Cougars. Get inspired with our fat bike demonstrations, give the snow slide a whirl, enjoy a ride on the Cottonwood Express or test your talents at winter art and activities. Anyone for snow yoga or mini snow golf?”
There is also a gourmet smores competition between local businesses (where the public is the big winner with each bite).
“For your shopping pleasure, we invite you to wander through the wonderful Legion Winter Market or our local Prince George Farmer’s Market, Van Mook said. “Our fabulous exhibitors and local merchants will be offering a little something for everyone. Delight your taste buds with fun and tasty food choices in our unique outdoor winter food court. If you need to warm up your toes, CrossRoads Brewing and Ohh Chocolat Cafe will be featuring live entertainment throughout the day.”
Some of the activities require purchase or entry fee, but it is largely a cost-free event with lots of sights, sounds and tastes all melted into neighbourhood fellowship.