Ice on Whyte returns as a must-visit winter activity

Starting back in 2003, the Old Strathcona Business Association implemented an event worth leaving your bundle of warm blankets for. Ice on Whyte is a gallery of large ice sculptures for everyone to enjoy.

Ice on Whyte is a winter event in Edmonton that puts great ice sculptures on display. It’s held at Dr. Wilbert McIntyre Park and is accessible to all for a reasonable price. Apart from admiring the clear, illuminated sculptures and voting on your favourite, there is also a catering service for small snacks at small picnic tables and bonfires, a chipping station to have a go at ice carving, and an overall welcoming atmosphere in which you can take perfect pictures. 

The event itself is not too large therefore not restricting you to be out in the cold for too long, and either way, there are distractions to keep you from focusing on the cold. Immediately upon purchasing your tickets, you are handed a voting token to award one of the sculptures and a scavenger hunt with a reward, making the event interactive for anyone. 

When you enter you see a small area with bonfires and tables and sculptures of snow and ice for display, with the name of each artist. Beside there is a tent in which the large ice sculptures are displayed. All the sculptures at the event are illuminated by spotlights of different transitioning colours putting across the beauty of each sculpture and their details. For instance, my favourite was the “Pegasus Honours Griffin” piece by Ross Baisas and Scott Harrison; fine detailing can be seen of the feathers and the facial expressions of the creatures, all done through crystal clear ice. There were also pieces celebrating Canada as a nation with maple leaves carved onto them. 

I had the chance to talk to Jill Roszell, the producer of the event. It was evident how important this event was for her and her community and how much she and those in the same field wanted to share their love for it with everyone. 

“I love working with the artists, it’s my favourite,” says Rozell. “They are a real community, especially with [COVID-19] a lot of them haven’t actually seen each other … and they were just so happy to be doing it again and so happy to see each other it was quite heartwarming.” 

One thing that was emphasized through the interview was the influence COVID-19 had on the event. 

“Normally it’s an international ice carving competition,” she says. “We would have artists coming from all around the world to compete. We work with Ice Magic in Lake Louise and Winterlude in Ottawa and the three of us are competitors for the Canada Cup of Ice Carving and we’re part of a whole circuit of competition that happens all around the world.” 

Roszell goes on to say this year they commissioned artists across Canada to build competition-style sculptures with the same amount of ice blocks, just not in a competitive atmosphere due to the international competitors not being able to fly out and other circumstances due to the pandemic.

The chipping tent was extremely fun, yet difficult. I did not think that breaking an ice block in the shape of a star would be as cumbersome as it was — then again, I was partially an ice block myself. Looking around at the other people attending the event and talking about each sculpture or filming each other chipping ice was truly a sight. 

“I love watching people’s eyes light up when they walk into the tent and not expecting what’s in here, and also to be honest Chippers is kinda fun,” Roszella said.

It’s an event designed for all ages; there was even an ice slide sculpted outside the tent from which kids were sliding, surely freezing, but mainly having a good time. 

The tickets are at set prices of a family pack (two adults and two children) for $18, adults at $6, children at $4 (two to13 years), and those under two years old for free. The event is running until Sunday February 6, weekdays from 5:00 to 9:30 p.m. and weekends from 10:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Dr. Wilbert McIntyre Park. You can purchase tickets online or at the entrance.