Pass by Grant Park this Feb. 12-16 and you may spot a raging dragon, Albert Einstein and Mrs. O’Leary’s infamous cow—all nearly 10 feet tall and made out of snow. Those are a few of the proposed designs for 15 sculptures that will appear as part of the first Snow Days Chicago festival, alongside demonstrations of dogsled racing and snowboard rail-grinding.
Snow Visions Inc. is bringing experienced sculpting teams from across the country to carve the statues from huge blocks of snow for the festival. The event is free and open to the public and will take place with or without natural snowfall.
“The city of Chicago has been looking for years to produce an event for the winter months,” says Ann Hickey, director of program development at the Mayor’s Office of Special Events."We really hope families will take the opportunity to come down and enjoy it.”
Kids can make holiday-themed crafts and hear live storytelling in the Kids Tent, pet the sled dogs and gape at the snowboarders’ stunts. On Friday and Saturday, they can vote for their favorite snow sculpture. Food and hot cocoa will be sold.
More information is available at www.explorechicago.org and www.snowvisions.com.
Darren McRoy
