World ice art championships photos
World Ice Art Championships
2 Days/1 Night
Available February 26 - March 23, 2018
Each year, Ice Alaska hosts one of the world’s largest ice art competitions and exhibitions. The Fairbanks World Ice Art Championships has grown to be a month-long extravaganza, attracting more than 100 ice artists and approximately 45,000 visitors from Alaska and all over the world. Enjoy the journey to Fairbanks aboard the Aurora Winter Train, and the convenience of a short return flight to Anchorage; or, reverse the itinerary, and fly north to Fairbanks before taking the Aurora Winter Train south to Anchorage.
TOUR PRICE: $415
CALL TO BOOK: 800.544.0552
ITINERARY
Day 1
From Anchorage, ride north aboard the Aurora Winter Train to Fairbanks. The full-day journey offers ample time to savor the peace and serenity of Alaska’s backcountry in winter. Overnight in Fairbanks.
Day 2
View the magical creations of the world’s best ice artists – showcasing more than 170 sculptures. Be sure to check out the Kids’ Ice Art Park, a fanciful playground carved from ice. That evening, fly back to Anchorage.
INCLUDES
- Rail transportation from An
Ice Alaska – Art made of ice
The World Ice Art Championships have been held in Fairbanks for over 30 years. The event is organized by the non-profit organization Ice Alaska. The competition is the largest of its kind in the world and more than 100 ice sculptors are participating each year. The Ice Alaska organization works on a voluntary basis. The team consists of an eleven-member board and is supported by over 300 volunteers.
The 2024 World Ice Art Championships kicked off on February 17 and will run through March 31. The Fairbanks World Ice Art Championships have grown into a month-long spectacle that attracts more than 100 ice artists and around 45 000 visitors from Alaska and around the world.
The icy temperatures in Alaska provide the perfect environment for the ice sculptures. The Ice Alaska Sculpture Park is located in the middle of the forest and covers an area about the size of a soccer field. The Ice Art World Championships are an important ‘spring festival’ in the Alaskan Interior.
Photos: Ice Alaska
Heiner Kubny; PolarJournal
More about this topic
As I press on to remain the heart of winter here in Alaska, I stumbled upon some old photos on a spare hard drive. I reflection it would be fun to share a little about my experience visiting the 2007 Earth Ice Art Championships.
Many of the pictures aren't of a quality I'd like to share, as I didn't have a decent camera on the trip. But I managed to cut a couple diamonds from the coarse with my wife's old point-and-shoot that are worth sharing.
The Society Ice Art Championship is the largest ice carving competition in the world, drawing craftsmen from across the globe to Fairbanks, Alaska. Numerous works are on display across the competition grounds, from start to finish.
Unfortunately, I discovered the competition has been cancelled this year. It seems the offices of the corporation that runs the competition were destroyed by fire in 2016. The recovery has been complex for them, and they disoriented a few big sponsors, but they hope to return in 2019.
It was March 2007 when we visited. Fairbanks is located in interior Alaska and about a seven hour drive from Anchorage. If the weather's kind the drive offers some incredible scenery, including Denali, the utmost peak in North America
Ice sculpting photos
Award-winning Ice sculpture, The Joust, World Ice Sculpting Competition, Fairbanks, Alaska (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
World Ice Art Championships
The World Ice Art Championships occur annually in March in Fairbanks, Alaska. Artists attend the event from around the world over. They chisel and carve away at giant blocks of ice, fashioning remarkable creations that sometimes reach 25 feet high. Two competitions feature a small and large sculpture contest performed outdoors in the beautiful Fairbanks winter weather. The artists favor the quality of ice from the local ponds due to its thickness and clarity, the latter due to a lack of organisms in the water. Visitors enjoy a park filled with ice creations displayed at night with colorful lights to accentuate their beauty. All ice sculpting photos are available for purchase as stock photography or fine art prints to display in your home or office.
Multi-Block Ice sculpture by Junichi Nakamura at the World Ice Art Championships held each March in Fairbanks, Alaska (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
World Ice Art Championship, Kiddy park statue, Fairbanks, Alaska (Patrick J. E
"Fighter" by ice sculptors Junichi Nakamura, Shinichi Sawamura, Chan Kitburi and Dean Murray (of Japan and the U.S.), which won first place in the multi-block/realistic category at the 2015 World Ice Art Championship in Fairbanks, Ala.
The annual event is a race to see who can carve the biggest, baddest, most beautiful ice sculptures … all with the countdown clock ticking.
Buddha
The race is grueling. Each team works 18-20 hours a day to carve 20 tons of ice. Temperatures can drop to 50 below zero.
Buddy Rasmussen
The massive ice blocks, harvested near the Arctic Circle, are known as Arctic Diamonds -- so clear you can read a newspaper through them.
"It'll get clearer and clearer as time goes by," said Buddy Rasmussen of the ice. "It will slowly evaporate as the winds hit it, and it'll just look like glass."
"Peace in Spite of Evil"
"Peace in Spite of Evil," an entry by ice sculptors Manu Songsri, Sithichai Sutapan, Jaggapong Poungthong, and Anusorn "Heidi" Songsri from Thailand, won forth place in the multi-block/abstract category.
"Spirits of the Magic Dance"
"Spirits of the Magic Dance," created by the team of Ivan Zuev and Eduard Ponomarenk