 |
Home | Search | Browse | About IPO | Staff | Links |
|
Home | Search | Browse | About IPO | Staff | Links |
|
Snow sculpting arrives in Illinois! The State Snow Sculpting Competition is an effective remedy for Midwest cabin fever.
By Vance Barrie Mix 80 tons of snow, 50,000 spectators and 47 artists, and what do you have? The first Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition! It was held in Rockford's Sinnissippi Park on the coldest weekend of the 1986-'87 winter, and it was an instant success. Why? It was cold. It was outside. People had to wait up to 20 minutes just to get inside the park on the weekend, and then another 30 minutes before they could see the snow sculptures. Yet, there were no complaints. Gordie Taylor of Milwaukee, WI, an organizer of the National and U.S. International Snow Sculpting Competition, realized several years ago while viewing the Montreal Winter Festival that snow sculpting would be a welcome relief from Midwest cabin fever. Getting started How did this big event get put together? In November, 1985, two Rock- Illinois Parks and Recreation 17 November/December 1987 ford businessmen, Dennis Johnson and Brian Hampton, were snow-mobiling in northern Wisconsin when they noticed a large Statue of Liberty snow sculpture. They paid the young Eagle River, WI, couple who created that sculpture to duplicate their efforts in Sinnissippi Park. The Rockford Park District cooperated, and thousands of people viewed the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell and the American Eagle. Expanding the idea In September, 1986, Johnson and Hampton met with park district staff to discuss plans for 1987. When learning that there was a sanctioning group for state snow sculpting competition, Johnson and a Rockford alderman, Frank Beach, immediately flew to Milwaukee in the Johnson company plane, and Rockford became the host for the first-ever Illinois competition. The park district finalized and approved plans for this competition in November, 1986, which was two months before the event began. With guidance from the sanctioning group, Winterfun, Inc., Johnson, Hampton and the park district staff expanded the Planning Committee to include a veteran of organized community festivals, members of the local Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the director of the local art museum.
There were three major tasks ahead: to recruit sponsorships, to recruit participants and to plan the physical setup. Physical setup The latter was the easiest. With guidance from Winterfun staff, four 6 by 6 by 10 foot-boxes were built to hold the snow blocks. Tools were rented; ladders were secured; sites with available electrical hookups were inspected; parking needs were considered. The 125-acre Sinnissippi Park was selected as the site for the event because of its central location and its proximity to a major thoroughfare (Illinois Highway 251), parking availability and electrical services. Recruitment efforts With less than two months available to recruit participants, park districts, art councils, art museums Illinois Parks and Recreation 18 November/December 1987
and colleges were contacted by letters, brochures and, in some cases, by phone calls. These efforts paid off, as teams representing the Decatur, Galena and Springfield Art Councils entered the snow sculpting competition. In addition, news releases were sent to nearly all newspapers, and radio and television stations statewide. Corporate support SwedishAmerican Hospital in Rockford was sought as a possible sponsor for the sculpting competition, and its chief executive officer gladly agreed to help. The hospital supplied all the meals, and great hospitality, for three days. (One competitor in his 40s said he hadn't eaten that well since he left his mother!) Radio Station WROK agreed to give the event hundreds of mentions on the air as well as do remote broadcasts from the park during the competition. The Rockford Register-Star donated two quarter-page ads to the cause. Where's the snow? There was very little snow in the Rockford area that winter, but the snowfall on January 9 and 10 was enough. The Greater Rockford Airport's runways were cleared, and Rockford Blacktop trucks brought the snow to Sinnissippi Park. The City of Rockford had to provide a front-end loader since the park district's equipment was not capable of dumping snow into the 10-foot boxes. The snow was packed into the boxes, stomped to provide a solid block, and left overnight to freeze. Sixteen blocks were needed for the 12 competitive teams, and the four exhibits by three international teams (from Italy, France and Canada) and a local sculptor. In addition to the three art council-sponsored teams from Decatur, Galena and Springfield, there were two teams from Sycamore (IL). The remaining teams were from the Rockford area. Three local motels provided free rooms for the out-of-town participants. Members of the Italian team were particularly overcome by Rockford's hospitality, as they received goodies daily from the city's sizable Italian population. A unique art form A couple of the Sycamore sculptors were experienced in snow sculpting, but most of the participants were novices. A lottery to determine which blocks the teams had was held during breakfast on
Illinois Parks and Recreation 19 November/December 1987 the first day of the competition. These common meals were a good way for new friendships to develop, and they promoted an exchange of ideas and techniques about this fairly new art form. And snow sculpting is a work of art . . . starting with a five-ton block of snow and creating a thing of temporary beauty. It's also hard work to remove the chunks of snow from the blocks, as some chunks weighed several hundred pounds. The cold weather was a mixed blessing. It kept the snow sculptures intact for 10 days before the sun melted them. However, it made working on the large blocks more of a challenge. Talented participants Larry Wetherbolt, a well-known artist from Decatur (IL), and his son and nephew won the event with Buffalo Dreamer. The Indian bust had two buffalos on the side of the headdress. "It is great to have people come up to us and comment about our work," Wetherbolt said. "That usually isn't the case. "And most of these people coming through would never go into an art museum. As an artist, this is great exposure to people like this." A successful venture And the people came and came! The sculptures were located about a fifth of a mile from each other, and it took the majority of the visitors up to 40 minutes to view the 12 competitive sculptures. More than 2,000 ballots were cast for the People's Choice Award. Media coverage was also great. The three local television stations covered the event nightly, and articles appeared in the daily and weekly newspapers. In addition, a local sculptor, Gene Horvath, did a demonstration block along Highway 251 to create interest, and having one of the local television stations, WTVO, enter the competition didn't hurt publicity. A slide show was subsequently developed, and shown to nursing and retirement home residents after the competition. Several groups contacted the park district after the State contest, and they now plan to host their own competition with their winners going to the 1988 State Competition January 26-30 in Rockford. Snow sculpting has arrived! It will be a part of the 1988 Winter Olympic games in Calgary, Canada, and a competitive event in the (Continued on page 22) Illinois Parks and Recreation 20 November/December 1987 following winter Olympic competition, too. Because of the cooperation of serveral agencies and companies, Illinois is a part of this new art form in a very big way. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Vance Barrie is public information officier with the Rockford Park District. He has been with the park district for seven years. Illinois Parks and Recreation 22 November/December 1987 |
|
|
