The 2009 Ice Art Championships came to an end about a week ago.  Of the three I have attended since moving to Fairbanks this was by far the most exciting yet.  Josh and I managed to go a lot during the actual carving and I think that really increased the enjoyment factor for us.  It truly is an amazing thing to watch people carve ice into art, and at extremely cold temperatures in the middle of Fairbanks, AK!

Fifty years of statehood is celebrated with an eternal flame.  It was lit a lot of the time!

King Kong

Fabricating pieces for the multi-block:

Almost the final product - keep your eye on the reindeer furthest to the right:

No arrow:

Arrow!

"50th Celebration by the Sourdough Band" (4th place, Realistic):

Enormous, scary crucifix with Ten Commandments carved into steps; "Stairway to Heaven" (2nd Place, Realistic category).

One of my favorite carvings in the multi-block, "The 3 Graces" (this was awarded 2nd place in the Abstract category):

To give you a sense of the size of these sculptures I'm putting this next picture up "as-taken" and then with some of the light lifted out so you can compare the sculpture to the height of the surrounding trees:

I think the Cyclops, featured in a few earlier videos, turned out great!

Josh and I both enjoyed watching this turtle emerge from the ice.  "Swimming Lesson" came in 2nd in the Realistic category.

We caught Stan and his team finishing up on the final night of the multi-block - they came in 7th in the Realistic category.  Sweet!

Here is the final product of Stan Kolonko & Co.:

And finally the winner (Realistic category), by Junichi Nakamura (who also won 1st in the single block a week earlier), "White Fang":

Nakamura is incredible to watch and the finished product stands out amongst all of the great art that we saw.  It's clear that the other carvers really respect his work and his talent, too.  I'm thinking that no matter what competition he's in, he's usually the guy to beat!