International ice carvers land on Whyte Avenue

Extended: An up-close look at the process of ice carving The Boardwalk Ice on Whyte competition runs Jan. 23 to Feb. 2, 2020.

EDMONTON — They’re huge. Frozen. Beautiful.

As in the eight works of art being completed Thursday at the 2020 Boardwalk Ice On Whyte ice carving competition.

Teams of international artists each started with 15 blocks of ice. Over the next 30 hours they’re using every saw, scraper and blade available to transform the squares into exquisite designs.

“How have you challenged the ice?” judge Amber Rooke asked.

Rooke said the judging is very precise and difficult.

"Have you used each block of ice to its maximum capacity?"

A team of three judges will then decide which of the carvings is worthy of the top prize. That will happen Friday afternoon at 4:30 pm. Points are given out for initial impression, structure, detail, and creativity.

“Sometimes you might not agree with another judge, so in the end we come to a decision. It’s not easy,” said Rooke.

The initial blocks weighed 130 kilograms each. But ice carvers quickly transformed the frozen squares into finely crafted sculptures of flying geese, high rise buildings, snowflakes, and teapots, among other creations.

"We want to see beautiful challenging works of art. These are international competitors; they have a lot of experience in creating ice artwork,” the judge added.

"But there is no one (judging) box that’s says, 'That’s a work of ice.' There’s no one thing we are looking for because then, that’s all we’d see."

The public is invited to view the carvings until 9:30 p.m. Thursday at Dr. Wilbert McIntyre Park north of Whyte Ave on 104 Street.

The final creations will be on display until Feb. 2.