Ice Sculptures

We had unusually warm weather over the weekend with temperatures in the 60's. So what did we decide to do? We visited an ice sculpture show where the temperature was 9 °F (-13 °C). The Gaylord Hotels sponsor these shows every year and I have wanted to go since I first heard about them--even though that was only a couple of weeks ago from a commercial on TV. :) The Gaylord hired 40 master ice sculpture artists from Harbin, China that is known for its world famous International Ice and Snow Festival. They created the wonderland from 5000 blocks of ice weighing two million pounds.

There were life-size and larger colorful characters in several rooms that we wandered through that depicted scenes from the poem, Twas the Night before Christmas by Clement Moore. We also saw scenes from New York City and the Christmas manger scene all made from ice. The first thing we did before entering was to get a large parka to help with the cold inside. Since I was already wearing three layers including a winter coat, I wasn't sure I needed the addtional parka. However, it wasn't an option and I'm really glad that it wasn't it. Did I mention that it was 9 °F in there? Afterward, we walked around outside looking at other Christmas decorations with only a sweater on. We had an enjoyable outing in both the warm and the cold.

Here are a few pictures from the ice show. Remember everything you see here is made from ice. Interestingly enough, the camera picked up the edges between the blocks of ice more than our eyes did.