An Edmonton winter festival is giving Frosty and Olaf a run for their money. The 30th annual Silver Skate Festival has brought back their snow sculpture symposium and the projects are mind-boggling in their details. Featuring snow T-Rexes, angels, abstract geometric shapes, and more, the snow sculptures at Silver Skate are not to be missed. This is the festival's 14th annual snow sculpture event, executive producer Erin DiLoreto told Narcity.* Sculptors were grouped into eight teams of two to three, with each team given identical blocks of 8 foot-high, wide, and deep compressed snow. Despite the high standards, DiLoreto made it clear that the symposium is not a contest. "Artists get together to learn and work with each other to create their own magic," said DiLoreto. She said some sculptors will receive the People's Choice and Artist's Choice awards, but noted that they'd prefer to pay each sculptor the same. "We've had artists from Mexico, Africa, Argentina, with warm weather climates. We've had artists from all over the world participate in the last 14 years," DiLoreto added. The sculptures will be up for the entirety of the festival in an "ephemeral sculpture garden," according to the event's website. Out of the other snow festivals in Edmonton, Silver Skate is the oldest, showcasing culinary competitions, skiing and more. It really doesn't get any more Canadian than this! And, after you're done visiting and have picked up the fragments of your blown mind off the floor, you could consider quenching your thirst at this wine festival nearby. Without any further ado, here are the teams and some of their most epic sculptures ... Team Ice Castle Great form and awesome fur detail. This is one sculpture we're going bananas for (not sorry). 9/10. “Team Ice Castle” Lead Artist: Ritchie VelthuisPosted by Silver Skate Festival on Sunday, February 9, 2020 Lucky Wolf Loving the relief detail done on the arches and the incredible symmetry. It looks like solid marble and not at all like snow. 10/10. “Lucky Wolf” Lead Artist: Randall FraserPosted by Silver Skate Festival on Sunday, February 9, 2020 “Lucky Wolf” Lead Artist: Randall FraserPosted by Silver Skate Festival on Sunday, February 9, 2020 Team Voyager I bet you're waiting for me to make a Tortoise and the Hare reference, but I'm letting my hair down and taking it easy with this one. 11/10. “Team Voyager” Lead Artist: Brian McArthurPosted by Silver Skate Festival on Sunday, February 9, 2020 Snowmageddon Not entirely sure what this is, but it looks really impressive and somewhat like an alien engine. 12/10. “Snowmageddon” Lead Artist: Brian GuentherPosted by Silver Skate Festival on Sunday, February 9, 2020 Double Dutch Trouble This sculpture is so crazy impressive my eyes exploded. They'll grow back but in the meantime, check out the texture of that fur! 13/10. “Double Dutch Trouble” Lead Artist: Edith van de WeteringPosted by Silver Skate Festival on Sunday, February 9, 2020 “Double Dutch Trouble” Lead Artist: Edith van de WeteringPosted by Silver Skate Festival on Sunday, February 9, 2020 T and T I can't even draw a hand let alone sculpt several out of snow. Heck, I can't even draw a ball. 14/10. “T and T” Lead Artist: Tim UphamPosted by Silver Skate Festival on Sunday, February 9, 2020 White Spades Not too sure what this is other than impressive. The cracked texture on the back looks so realistic I kinda want to eat it. 15/10. “White Spades” Lead Artist: Brian RoublePosted by Silver Skate Festival on Sunday, February 9, 2020 “White Spades” Lead Artist: Brian RoublePosted by Silver Skate Festival on Sunday, February 9, 2020 Team Ottawa It's a ding dang T-rex. Need I say more? 16/10. “Team Ottawa” Lead Artist: James W. CookPosted by Silver Skate Festival on Sunday, February 9, 2020 *This article has been updated.
