What happens when you mix fire with ice? No ... this isn’t a proper chemistry quiz. If you live in St. Albert, then the correct answer is an afternoon of good times with your friends and family at a frozen lake in the middle of February.
The annual Fire and Ice Festival is not to be missed. It’s four hours of everything you and your kids picture in your head when the words ‘winter carnival’ are mentioned, from pond hockey to cabane à sucre to everyone’s favourite – sleigh rides – all courtesy of St. Albert Firefighters Local 2130.
Firefighters, you might think, probably already have a strong sense of satisfaction from serving the community.
“Well, it's like I always say: it's our chance to showcase ourselves so we can give back to the community. It is a big task, but with our department, we're up for it,” said firefighter and organizer Bryan Mroz.
It obviously means something to them to be able to bring all the families out and see the community come together in the middle of a snow-laden Lacombe Lake Park.
“We're a big family ourselves, so we can showcase ourselves as a family. We know we all have families within that family too.”
Speaking of family fun, there will certainly be a lot of moms and pops with tots in tow wanting to get a turn on the horse-drawn sleigh, courtesy of MP Stables. Co-owner Evelyn Presisniuk said people can expect line-ups for certain, but they can also expect to get the fairy tale experience that only this attraction can offer.
“It's very popular. It's the only way, I think, that city folks get some exposure. Everyone loves horses and have since the beginning of time. They’re really magical creatures,” Presisniuk said, though she wasn’t sure which of their Percherons, Belgians or Fjord horses would actually be chomping at the bit come Family Day.
What she did know for a fact was the sleigh would be helmed by her husband, Morris Presisniuk (the guy whose initials MP are on the name of the stables). She called him the horse whisperer because of his special abilities to communicate with the animals. As a side note, she added he was actually born in the Year of the Horse.
Elsewhere at the fest, you can enjoy the petting zoo courtesy of Finnegan Farms, the cabane à sucre (from ACFA Régionale de Centralta), and free hot dogs and s'mores at the fire pits with hot chocolate and coffee to wash it all down with. Mroz offered a hearty thanks to Save-On Foods for stepping up to be a major sponsor. “They're big in the community,” he said.
You know what else is going to be big on Monday? The answer is an eagle – a big block of ice turned into a magnificent work of art, courtesy of ice sculptor Barry Collier of Ice Works.
“I think what I’ve got planned for this year ... I haven't quite decided yet because I haven't seen where I'm going to be located this year, but I was looking at probably doing a good-sized eagle,” he said.
“Fire and Ice has always been special to me, just because I am a resident of St. Albert. One good quality is that we always get to see family and friends at this event, and enjoy it, especially the kids,” he continued. “In the past, I've let the kids use the power tools, the chainsaw, and stuff like that. They tend to really, really enjoy it. I don't know about the parents, but definitely the kids enjoy that aspect of it.”
You read that right: he does sometimes let the kids pick up the chainsaws and put a few strokes on whatever ice he has leftover at the end of his sculpting. Collier said he has more than 30 years of experience and he assured the Gazette it is safe and he has most of the control over the handling and operation of the machine while it’s running.
“Just the thought of them operating the chainsaw and they go through it and see the snow flying out the other end ... they just love it.”
Other fabulous attractions to catch while you’re at the park include skating on the ice or playing pond hockey with the firefighters (bring your own stick), temporary glitter tattoos courtesy of Sparkle Tattoo, and fun crafts thanks to Home Depot. There’s also the Kids Firefighter Obstacle Course, fire trucks on site for kids of all ages to admire, and performances by fire artist Safire at 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. That’s something that everyone must see at least once in their lives.
Mroz said that there’s so much to see and do, and what makes it all even better is that there’s no charge at the gates, though donations will be accepted for the firefighters' upcoming Rooftop Campout campaign to fundraise for Muscular Dystrophy Canada.
“Everything’s free ... so it's great for the family. Even getting there is free: we have the park-and-ride.”
This year, buses will leave from Bellerose Composite High School at 11:50 a.m. and run every 10 minutes until 4:30 p.m. The last bus departs Lacombe Lake Park at 4:40 p.m. Visit www.stalbert.ca/exp/fire-and-ice for further details. Please note that there will be no parking on site and that all dogs must be on-leash when outside of the designated dog-friendly park area.
