"It's like sculpting slush:" Snow artists make most of sub-par weather conditions at Stillwater's international event
STILLWATER, Minn. – Setup is underway for the five-day World Snow Sculpting Championship event in Stillwater, which is in its second year.
Last year, temperatures were below zero for the event. This year, organizers are plowing forward persistently, despite the consistency.
Despite the warmth, and the rain, Stillwater is busy prepping to roll out the white carpet. Robin Anthony, president of the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce, helped organize the event.
"The snow kinda shrunk a little bit so we were nervous earlier on if we were gonna have enough snow, but we're gonna have enough snow," Anthony said.
Jon Baller, a Stillwater native, and his team are prepping an exhibit sculpture to welcome the world to this logging town.
"It's like sculpting slush almost right now," Baller said.
But with the rain and warmth, it's tricky.
"It's very sticky, and it's really dense. It's really good snowball weather, but it's kinda not that great for sculpting," he said.
He says the texture of this snow is bad because it's fragile, but it's extra easy to sculpt. But they've got workarounds. Afton Alps helped fill the 10-by-10 molding blocks full of snow. And so they are ready for a hardy competition.
"Finland, Mexico, Turkey, Germany, so eight different countries are coming out. A couple U.S. teams, so we're really excited," Anthony said.
They will use intricate hand tools and sculpt around the clock for the next four days. Neither rain nor heat will keep them from the snow, and the show.
Events will be going on all the way through Sunday, with cocktail tents, food venues and sculpting 21 hours a day. The hope is for temps to drop and the wind to stay calm. Click here for more information.