The judges have spoken, and Yellowknife has a new champion for this year’s annual Inspired Ice Carving competition.
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After all that grueling work carving out in the snow, the competition finished Saturday afternoon.
There were carvings of polar bears, archers, and even a giant crocodile but in the end the carving Lake Song by Chris Swarbrick and Peter Slavin took home first prize.
“Lake Song to us means that when you walk on the lake at night and you see the Aurora, the sounds that a frozen lake makes and this is our interpretation of it,” Slavin said in a twitter video.
Meet Lake Song #icecarvers at #debeersinspiredice #ljj17 #longjohnjamboree #spectacularnwt #debeers pic.twitter.com/x7HrPdAx9n
— De Beers Canada (@DeBeersCanada) March 25, 2017
Both men hail from over the border, and this is their second competition. Slavin, who comes from Philadelphia, competed back in 2015.
He said it’s the people of Yellowknife that keep him coming back.
“The things that resonate with me is the people that live here,” he said.
“They come back and they remember you from a couple years before and I think that’s really special.”
His carving partner Swarbrick traveled from Hudson Wisconsin for the competition. He last competed four years ago.
“It’s been four years since I’ve been back here and people are still coming up to me and remember us from then,” he said.
“We just enjoy coming here. The hospitality’s great, this outdoor festival is one of a kind, and I’m glad to be here with my buddy. What could be better?”
