‘Christmas Around the World’ taking shape
A sure sign of the holidays in Central Florida blew in last week: The arrival of Chinese artisans at Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee. The 40 expert carvers are preparing the hotel’s annual ICE exhibit, which opens to the public Nov. 21.
Gaylord employees gave the workers a rousing welcome at the front door “because they are so critical to making the event happen,” said Christopher Brumbaugh, director of public relations and marketing. Upon arrival, the hosts took pictures of the carvers and vice versa.
But the artisans are actually beat to the site by giant blocks of ice trucked to Kissimmee. The visitors from Harbin, China, will mold them into figures for this year’s “Christmas Around the World” theme. First to go up are walls made of smaller blocks.
“It’s truly like building a house,” Brumbaugh said. “They build the walls, and then they start on the interiors.”
The ice sculpting actually is completed behind the resort, inside a wellinsulated tent kept at a temperature of 9 degrees. Some carvers will stay in Florida to do touch-ups through the run of the event, which experiences wear, tear and melting.
The final element to be made is the popular clearice nativity scene, Brumbaugh said.
“They’ll go in and handcarve the faces and the hair and the hands,” he said. “It’s like working with marble at that point.”
ICE is the centerpiece of Gaylord’s holiday program, which targets hotel guests and local drop-ins. Activities such as snow tubing and a stage show called “Cirque Dreams Unwrapped” have been introduced over the years, and the resort is planning more shows, more characters and more activities, some free of charge, said Niko Nickolaou, director of special events and entertainment.
Among the new features for 2017 will be the Christmas Tree Trail spotlighting nine themed trees — representing Italy, Brazil, China and elsewhere — in the Everglades Atrium.
“It’s one of the free activities that you can do here to enjoy and spend the day here and walk through the entire exhibit,” Nickolaou said.
Another fresh offering will be the weeknight Sounds of the Season concert series, featuring local groups, such as the Orlando Gay Chorus, Orlando Opera, the Voctave a cappella ensemble and a Gaylord Palms employees chorus. Concert tickets include admission to ICE.
Three levels of “Play & Save Passes,” which include multiple activities, are for sale. The high-end one features front-of-line access.
The resort wants to add value to a Gaylord visit, Brumbaugh said.
“We found people are coming just to look at our decorations,” he said. A mix of free and ticketed activities can help attract guests who don’t spend the night there, he said.
“We want to give people a reason to stay for the day,” he said. “We’ve really become a Christmas theme park.”
dbevil@orlandosentinel .com