High on Ice opens this weekend – to predictions of warmer temperatures

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — High on Ice, Fort St. John’s winter and ice festival, is coming up this weekend. While there are tons of festivities in store, the main attraction is the ice sculptures.

Recreation Programmer with the City of Fort St. John, Marissa Jordan, says the theme this year is ‘Out of this World’ — as suggested by the carving team — so festival-goers can be ready to see space-related ice carvings. This follows the ‘Winter Games’ theme from last year, as Prince George hosted the Canada Winter Games, and Fort St. John hosted long-track speed skating.

But, taking a look at the temperature for the weekend, there’s a chance the display of ice sculptures outside for four days may not go as smoothly as planned. As of Thursday afternoon, the sun is supposed to shine intermittently all weekend, and help boost temperatures to above zero.

While eight sculptors — from Canada, the United States, Russia, and Lithuania — work away to get their artwork ready for tomorrow night, Jordan says they’re taking precautions right now to make sure the work is preserved for the festival.

“The sun is the biggest problem, obviously,” she told Energetic City. “So even if we can block the light, that helps significantly with the carvings not melting.”

Festival organizers don’t have a practical way of moving the sculptures once they’re done, says Jordan. But, if the weather isn’t favourable for keeping them well-composed, barricades would be put in place and people attending the festival will be told to be mindful that they aren’t in their best condition and could fall apart if they melt too much.

“The weather is something we obviously don’t have any control over,” she continued. “There are a lot of other activities and things to do as part of the festival — and not just the ice and snow — so explore other options on our events calendar.”

All the commissioned ice pieces will be completed in Centennial Park tomorrow. More complimentary ice pieces will be completed throughout the weekend.