PREVIEW
Ice Castles
Open until March 2018
Hawrelak Park
Tickets: $9.95 to $15.95 plus taxes. Visit http://www.icecastles.com/edmonton/
Forget Paris' Eiffel Tower or Egypt's pyramids, one of the great natural wonders of the world is right in Edmonton – the icy fortress known as Ice Castles.
The freeze-thaw-freeze weather cycle that enveloped the Edmonton region several weeks before Christmas had the bonus of creating an indelible and unforgettable creation.
"Our biggest challenge is always dealing with weather. We can't control it. But with the warm weather in Dec., we got some cool formations. This one has a more soft look, but with the freezing temperatures that came afterwards, it's more crystal and it turned out to be more fantastic and beautiful," said events manager Carolyn Playdon.
The third edition of Ice Castles, now open at Hawrelak Park, is a jaw-dropping marvel of gnarly icicles and stalactites that appear in suspended animation. Once inside, the natural flow of time stops as visitors are transported to a life-size frozen playground that changes shape day-by-day and shifts mood hour-by-hour.
Most visitors use the word "magical" to describe its icy towers and accompanying features. Depending on the day, the sculpted stronghold also appears haunting, mysterious and enigmatic – as if it hides a puzzling secret.
Some people compare it to Narnia or an alien world. Others feel they're walking through a crevasse, climbing frozen water falls or spelunking deep in the Earth's bowels. It's a playground that stimulates the imagination and evokes awe.
"Kids come in saying 'I'm in Frozen. Where's Elsa? Or they try to find Olaf. Kids also like to come dressed as Elsa," Playdon said.
This year the castle is one acre in size, about equal to a football field says Christian Denis, lead artist and site manager. Compared to last year's citadel that was approximately one and one-half acres, this castle carries a smaller footprint.
"It's more compact, but there's a lot more action going on. It's more enclosed. There are more archways. And it's more intimate. Last year there was a large courtyard. This time, we wanted to make it more intimate so people could lose themselves in it," Denis explained.
The castle walls are constructed entirely from ice and are anywhere from 10 to 20 feet thick. Employees grow and harvest about 10,000 icicles for each castle. The icicles are hand-placed to create a framework and lightly sprayed with water while Mother Nature shapes the sculpture. Different ice formations grow depending on temperature, snow fall, wind velocity and sunshine hours.
From the moment visitors walk through the arched entrance, they snap selfies while inching around zig-zag walkways. Each curved path takes people on a journey of discovery towards ice towers, hidden tunnels, spectacular arches, two spiral slides, a throne, a burbling fountain and a wood burning fireplace built from ice blocks.
Impressive? You bet. But wait there's more – new features that elicit fresh wonder from crowds.
This season, in addition to more than 100 large coloured lights frozen inside the walls, the castle highlights a computerized, 24-foot by 16-foot pixel wall that shimmers and rotates different abstract designs.
"It's a curtain of light that is programmed to coordinate with the sounds of music we play. There's a main brain outside the castle. Everything is linked in a chip and pre-programmed in a loop," Denis said.
Several other new features that are under experimentation are a dome room, two ball rooms and several caves tucked in nooks and crannies throughout. The ball room idea was borrowed from another site.
"We inflated a ball and sprayed it with water to create the ice. Then we deflated the ball and you can go in. It's like being inside a golf ball or a balloon. The two are connected. So far, everything new we've tried has gotten a positive response," Playdon said.
One of the more popular areas is the magnificent throne carved exclusively from ice blocks. Local artist Ritchie Velthuis whittled the blocks into a three-seater and engraved the tree of life on the throne's back. If you are angling for a throne photo, brace yourself for lineups.
During the weekend, a couple of folks expressed disappointment that the six-foot high, pumpkin-shaped ice fountain was difficult to see and revealed only a small water spray.
"We did that on purpose. People don't always look at what they're doing and this year we already had one person drop a cellphone into the fountain. In past years we found cellphones and coins. I guess people were using it as a wishing well."
And if visitors need a warm-up, the wood burning fireplace made from ice blocks is always blazing begging the question, "Why doesn't the ice melt?"
"Ice is an excellent insulator. A thin layer melts on the surface, but even that acts as an insulator."
Last season, Ice Castles attracted 200,000 visitors and Denis is expecting an equal amount if not more. Many not only travelled from across Canada, but came from Australia, China, Europe and South America.
"They know someone who lives here and they arranged to visit the ice castle while they were here. In walking around, staff offered to take their pictures and had conversations with them. A lot have never seen winter, let alone a feature like this," Denis noted.
He encourages visitors to visit more than once to see how the ice "beast" evolves and grows throughout the season.
"Come dressed for the weather. A lot of people come in plastic shoes. Come dressed in warm layers. We groom the trails, but it's still better to come with proper footwear."
Although Denis was involved in the project from the get-go and worked up to 18-hour days in roller coaster temperatures, he still gets lost in the magical ambience of the castle.
"It's difficult to put into words. Even pictures don't do it justice. You're in such awe of it. It brings out the child in us. It warms the heart and puts a smile on your face without realizing it."
