Visitors are encouraged to come out to the Vulcan Snow Park presented by City-County Credit Union, to watch sculptors at work during opening weekend (January 23-25). Finished sculptures remain on display for the duration of the Winter Carnival and are individually lit after dark for a truly special viewing and photography experience. Bring your donations of non-perishable food or cash donations to support local food shelves.
Sculptures on display:
Exhibition sculpture – A team of experienced snow artists create a giant sculpture in the week leading up to the Snow Park and during the opening weekend (January 23-25). Whatever the subject matter, the resulting sculpture is always enormous and spectacular.
Minnesota State Snow Sculpting Competition entries – Three-person teams from throughout Minnesota transform 8' x 8' x 8' blocks of compacted snow into works of art over two and a half days (January 23-25), using only hand tools.*
Amateur Snow Sculpting Contest entries – Three-person teams from throughout Minnesota transform 4' x 4' x 6' blocks of compacted snow into works of art over eight hours on a single day (January 24), using only hand tools.
Snow Park at the Fair is open daily until 10 pm; entry and parking are free.
*Fun fact: One cubic foot (a square block that measures 1' x 1' x 1') of compacted snow weighs approximately 30 pounds. The initial 8' x 8' x 8' blocks of snow used for the Minnesota State Snow Sculpting Competition can weigh around 7 tons or more. The finished competition sculptures weigh less, but still generally weigh well over a ton.
Schedule:
- Friday, Jan. 23
8 am to 10 pm – Exhibition sculpture progresses
8 am to 10 pm – State Competition sculptures get started
- Saturday, Jan. 24
8 am to 10 pm – Exhibition sculpture progresses
8 am to 10 pm – State Competition sculptures progress
8 am to 4 pm – Amateur Contest sculptures created (start to finish)
4:30 pm – Amateur Contest winners announced
- Sunday, Jan. 25
8 am to 10 pm – Amateur Contest finished sculptures on display
8 am to 1 pm – Exhibition sculpture progresses
8 am to 1 pm – State Competition sculptures progress
11:00 am to 1:30 pm – State Competition People’s Choice Award voting (vote for your favorite sculpture!)
1 pm to 10 pm – State Competition finished sculptures on display
2 pm – State Competition winners announced