ICE CASTLE
Father and daughter’s cool project
Eight-year-old Sonia Kasstan gets excited when the temperature drops to -40 C. Cold weather means it’s castle-building time.
For the last three winters, Sonia and her dad Steve have built an ice castle on their front yard at the corner of 20th Street West and Avenue F.
Steve said it’s a fun project for them to share.
“It’s something for us to do outside in the winter and (a way) to get excited about cold weather,” he said.
Most of the castle was built during the cold snap over Christmas. Sonia designed it and Steve helped with the execution.
“We talked it out before we built it,” Sonia said.
“It’s very rarely that people think, ‘Oh, minus 40! That’s really good!’” Steve said with a laugh.
They experimented with blue food colouring for this year’s castle, which has two forts and Gothic-inspired arches. Each fort has a central pillar, four walls and lighting.
“We were trying to do a Gothic ceiling, but it kind of turned out like a frozen upside down from Stranger Things,” Steve said.
The castle is strong with a foundation more than 30 centimetres thick. The walls get narrower toward the top. Extra reinforcement comes from slush used as mortar, extra supports and reinforced corners.
“The bottom is very sturdy,” Sonia said.
“Over the years, we’ve learned how to ( build) it so the foundation is big and thick,” Steve added.
Sonia’s design inspiration came from a wide variety of experiences — visiting Viking-era ruins in Iceland, her love of Harry Potter, castles, fairy tales, unicorns, trolls and rainbows.
They ’ve tried using milk cartons in years past, but didn’t like the waste it generated. A milk carton can’t be reused.
Now they have an efficient system using hundreds of cups and buckets filled with water and left overnight in the backyard to freeze. Hot water helps pop the ice out.
Steve estimates they used 7,256 litres of water in this year’s project, meaning the castle weighs 6,676 kilograms.
Steve said it’s been a great conversation starter in the neighbourhood as people walk by and stop for a chat.
“There’s constant foot traffic. Some of the younger kids would come and visit every day.”
The castle is on its way to becoming a puddle. It’s built to fall inward.
Its ephemeral nature is part of the reason they enjoy the building process.
“It always melts!” Steve said. “That’s part of the fun.”
The more it melts, the prettier it gets. Blue droplets run off the icicles hanging from arches and doorways.
Next year’s castle will be pink, Sonia said.