WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va (WVVA)--The Greenbrier will host a National Ice Carving Association competition during its 3rd Annual "Winterfest Weekend."
Nationally-ranked ice carvers will participate in a weekend of events
testing their abilities to transform a block of ice into a sculpture.
The community is invited to attend, and the audience gets to judge the winner of certain competitions.
"A plain block of ice gets transformed into something you would never expect to see," said Ashley Fenstermaker, Special Events Manager at The Greenbrier. "These carvers are the top-tier.
Fenstermaker said this cold weather, while not ideal for taking a nice walk outdoors, is perfect for the carvers.
"When they fuse the pieces of ice together, there is a seam. And the cold weather helps keep that seam together so the sculpture doesn't fall apart."
Fenstermaker added that the competitors are very excited to work in temperatures like those across the Two Virginias this weekend.
Ice carving events over the weekend include:
- Speed Carving, where carvers have 20 minutes to make a sculpture and attendees get to judge the winner;
- Carve-and-deliver where carvers create a sculpture and then have to deliever it to another location within 2.5 hours; and
- the Showpiece Competition, where carvers must create intricate sculptures in 4 hours' time.
Other Winterfest events include a Landau Murphy concert, cooking demonstrations, ice skating performances by the WV Synchro Team from Charleston, and a blackjack tournament.
A complete list of Winterfest activities can be found here on The Greenbrier's Winterfest website.
