The winners of the 2021 snow carving competition organized by Snowbuddy’s Winter Garden have been announced.
Eight teams of local carvers participated in the event and spent 10 days transforming 8’x8’x8’ snow blocks into incredible works of art.
First place went to Team Mckalfitznaycords (Sarah Kalnay-Watson, Byron Fitzky, Ryan McCord), second place went to Team Tall Taniwha (Kris Schlagintweit, Niki McKenzie, Cat McGurk, Laura Bain), and third place went to Team Jedi (John Sabourin, Derrald Taylor, Eli Nasogaluak).
The teams (maximum of 4 total carvers per team), braved the icy conditions on Yellowknife Bay, and competed by carving a large block of formed snow into art.
Prize money was awarded for 1st through 3rd place as well as a small participation honorarium to help cover some of the costs of entering the challenge.
They used any equipment and tools available and were given five hours a day from March 5th-14th, to create their masterpiece, using only ice and snow as materials.
The jurors that decided the winners were Mayor Rebecca Alty, MLA Rylund Johnson, Johanna Tiemessen from NWT Arts, Max Roussow from GNWT-ITI, and local artist and photographer Stephan Folkers.
The sculptures are being displayed on the outside of the winter garden meaning no ticket is required to check them out.
