A Toronto Ice Festival

Ice Sculptures with Blocks of Ice

It was a beautiful winter’s day last Saturday in Toronto and “Expressions of Love” took place in the Village of Yorkville Park – “icefest” it was called. This is its 11th year and the first time I have attended. There were people everywhere and the atmosphere was truly festive. The ice sculptures were magnificent and everyone was trying to get photos with the sculptures or of the sculptures. Many fine restaurants had their fare out. I even saw a sign there indicating there was wine tasting. It was quite the affair.

The history of ice sculpture dates back to the frigid realm of 17th century China to the province of Heilongjiang and the small fishing town of Harbin. There ice fishermen used to freeze buckets of water then remove the bucket and carve out a deep hole in the center in which they mounted a candle to create a crude lantern as a means of lighting their way to their favorite hole in the ice. This may be the oldest reference to "fire an ice" as well. Apparently it was cold enough that the candle didn't significantly melt the ice surrounding it. When Russia's Trans-Siberian Railroad hit town in 1897, Harbin became the home of it's own ice and snow carving festival. Since then, ice carving festivals have sprung up in a long list of countries around the world, some of which are so tropical their duration may well be counted in minutes rather than days (there's one in the Philippines, for instance). (at-now-and-then.blogspot.ca) — The history of ice sculpture dates back to the frigid realm of 17th century China to the province of Heilongjiang and the small fishing town of Harbin. There ice fishermen used to freeze buckets of water then remove the bucket and carve out a deep hole in the center in which they mounted a candle to create a crude lantern as a means of lighting their way to their favorite hole in the ice. This may be the oldest reference to “fire an ice” as well. Apparently it was cold enough that the candle didn’t significantly melt the ice surrounding it. When Russia’s Trans-Siberian Railroad hit town in 1897, Harbin became the home of it’s own ice and snow carving festival. Since then, ice carving festivals have sprung up in a long list of countries around the world, some of which are so tropical their duration may well be counted in minutes rather than days (there’s one in the Philippines, for instance).
(at-now-and-then.blogspot.ca)

Brought in for ice sculpting was 20,000 lbs. of crystal clear ice. The theme of love was inspired by Heart Month and the Valentine’s Day season. The BIA of the area had a fundraiser taking place to benefit the Heart and Stroke Foundation – Maple Syrup Taffy for $2.00. This is what the program said: Patrons can expect to be dazzled by these ice creations, which will include an iconic LOVE sculpture, a giant tribute to world peace, an abstract couple embracing, a winter-themed heart, and a depiction of the ultimate love story – Romeo & Juliet! Everyone there was bedazzled. See the LOVE sculpture below.

Ice Sculptures2

Sassafraz Restaurant which is one of the finest in Yorkville is responsible for the competition part of things. Votes were cast by many for their favourite sculpture. I’m not sure who was the winner. They were all amazing.

Ice Sculptures (Romeo & Juliet?)

I’ll let you decide which couple are Romeo and Juliet and which the abstract couple embracing.

“I think... if it is true that there are as many minds as there are heads, then there are as many kinds of love as there are hearts.” ― Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina — **“I think… if it is true that there are as many minds as there are heads, then there are as many kinds of love as there are hearts.”**
**― Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina**

Ice Sculptures (my favourite)

The ice competition was sponsored by many businesses, too numerous to mention here. If I’m around for my 80th birthday, I will have some ice sculptures, one of which will be a decorative punch bowl. How’s that for planning ahead!

Ice Sculptures

While most of the sculptures were on the theme of love, there were many others as well. I didn’t get as many pictures as I would have liked because of the crowd around each sculpture. Ice Sculptures4

It was a fun event and I hope you liked seeing the ice sculptures. Below is a YouTube video showing one of the ways that the actual ice sculpting is done.