Obviously, this competition starts with ice. But not just any ice, when it comes to natural "art ice", no finer can be found than a special algae-free pond in Fairbanks, it was cut with chain-saws into 4X4X3 foot blocks and brought to Anchorage. The process involved everything from front-end loaders and cranes operators, to road closures and even folks from Elmendorf Air Force Base.

This is one of the blocks of ice, transported to town square here in Anchorage, before the carving begin.






This exquisite "Winged Princess" won first prize - $15,000 at this competition. It was done by Junichi Nakamura and Tokeo Okamoto of Anchorage.







My daughter took this of the town square from her office on the 9th floor of a nearby building.






She also got some good shots of the work in progress. These sculptures had 54 hours to turn a 3,000 pound of ice into these beautiful works of art.

This is the Porpoise in progress. You will see the finished work below.





Here is the finished work of art - they call it "Catching the Wave"!





Some of these I did not get the title or the carvers name. It was a cold and windy day on this sunny afternoon. Wind-chill factor was 20 degrees below zero. Needless to say we did not linger long.











I loved this one of the dragon, but with sunlight at the angle it was, I did not get a real clear photo of it.






This magnificent sculpture is called "Spirit Of The Wind". It is done by Wade Peterson and Joe Cizek of Eagle River, Alaska.





The above art in progress:





Of course, we all recognize this fellow. "Elvis from Memphis".Actually Joe Rimer and Stan Gibson really did come all the way from Memphis, Tennessee to enter this event.





Finally if you want to see how cold we looked at the end of our tour - here we are!

My daughter, Debbie and husband Steve.






Nora and Bill, freezing but still enjoying the ice sculptures.




The show isn't over until the weather gods sing. These works of art can be viewed 24 hours a day, and have colored lights on them at night. Our thanks to all who worked so hard to bring this event to Anchorage.