Winterlude took place between the 1st and 3rd of February at the Crystal Garden (Confederation) Park in Canada's capital city of Ottawa. The theme of the festival was "Imaginary Garden".
The festival began with the One Block Challenge, in which the ice carvers were given one block (measuring 3.0 x 1.5 x 1.0 feet and weighing 300 lbs) and two hours in which to complete their creations. A second block of ice served as the base for each piece.
In this competition, Aleksey Andreyev with his "Maple Polar Bear" placed third.
Immediately after the One Block Challenge, the general competition began, in which each team received 18 blocks of ice and 36 hours to carve their sculptures. Unlike other festivals, in Ottawa the competitors worked underneath and inside of structures to protect against snowfall and wind.
The competition was high and brought with it famous ice carvers from countries like Canada, the United States, Russia, Japan, and Switzerland. Many of the sculptors come to Winterlude annually, and those that have participated in ice sculpting for five years in a row are given a jacket with the Winterlude emblem by the organizers.
Besides those traditionally snowy countries above, participants also came from nations including Malaysia, the UAE, and the Philippines. The Philippinean team took second place in the competition, coming ahead of the teams representing the Sakha Republic by a mere 0.33 points out of 100 possible. It also turns out that in warmer countries like Malaysia and the UAE, there is in fact a great demand for ice sculptures, and they are often put in the halls of luxury hotels, at parks, and even on beaches. Ice sculptors often address the needs of anniversaries, weddings, and other celebrations as well.
It stands to note that the teams representing the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), besides a Stihl chainsaw, refrained from using other electrical or power tools, instead favouring an assortment of hand tools and Yakutian knives. Other teams, widely using expensive and modern special-purpose instruments, were stunned at the quality of work attained by the use of such relatively simple and worn equipment, of which many tools were handmade.
Clips of some of the sculptures in the competition
"Daydreaming" — Canada, 12 place
"On Bubble Pond" — Canada, 11 place
"Amytis' Gift" — Canada, 8 place
"The Middle World" — Russia, 6 place
"Senses" — Canada, 5 place
"Alien Queen" — Japan and Canada, 4 place
"Birchtrees Dream Summer" — Russia, 3 place
"Rhythm of the Sea" — Philippines, 2 place
"Epilogue" — France and Poland, 1 place
The sculptures of the teams from the Sakha Republic contained within the carvings deeper meanings, taken from traditional Yakutian works and stories. Unfortunately, their meaning wasn't always fully realized given the culture gaps of the participants, onlookers, and judges. While there was high demand to know more about the meanings and symbolic nature of each sculpture, a rudimentary knowledge of English by the carvers and the time constraints of the competition prevented the Sakha masters from explaining their works. For this reason we will send a petition for next year's competition to include a brief explanation of each work alongside the sketch of the sculpture and the names of the participants.