Breckenridge Real Estate Blog

Another great reason to own a vacation home in Breckenridge, Colorado is getting to take the family to the wonderful festivals and events held all year round.  In January, the Budweiser Select International Snow Sculpture Championships during the Ullr Fest (a tribute to the Nordic god of snow) are a must.  The 2008 events take place January 22-27 with viewing continuing until February 3.  Residents of Breckenridge real estate can also volunteer a few hours to pass out programs while greeting internationally respected ice carvers, 30,000 visitors from around the world, and other residents of Breckenridge homes. 

Four-person teams of sculptors gingerly attack 12-foot-high, 20 ton blocks of snow/ice.  They have 65 hours to carve, chisel, shape, and sculpt proud, poetic, and cultural displays—using their hands, ice, water, creativity, and a few hand tools.  The results are simply astounding, as they glisten under the night lights of Breckenridge during the viewing week which follows the competition. 

All competitive pieces are judged at night under white lights.  The public can watch the sculptures take shape and also view the completed pieces illuminated by special lights at night.  At the Riverwalk Center, the annual awards ceremony tells which teams take People’s Choice of 1st Place, 2nd Place, 3rd Place, and Honorable Mention as well as Kids’ Choice. 

“They Call Him Old Man Winter,” a twinkling Dobie Gillis looking sculpture took the cake in 2007.  Competition may include extravaganzas such as a herd of elephants, seated camels balancing pillars, geometric shapes and swirls, messages like the “Suffering of Africa,” a Doryman rowing through the ocean, and extraordinary marvels that push the snow to its physical limits, showing the transparency, its ability to transmit light, and revelations of life inside the world of snow.

Though hundreds of teams apply to participate in the event, only fourteen are chosen to participate.  Every year introduces new sets of teams of sculptors who may hail from Russia, China, Japan, Turkey, France, Switzerland, Scandinavia, New Zealand, the United States, and other locations around the globe.

To become a sculptor yourself, look into the National Ice Carving Association, a U.S. organization with over 500 members devoted to promoting the art of ice sculpture across the country and around the world.  The NICA organizes ice-carving competitions and providing standardized guidelines for judging the quality of ice sculptures in competition.

For information about condominiums and vacation homes in the Town, contact Rick Allemang at 888-547-1002 or e-mail info@realestatecolorado.com.