Despite warm temps, IceFest a go for this weekend

By Linda Ebbing
lebbing@coxohio.com 
Reprinted with permission of the Journal-News

The show will go on, but if you plan to visit IceFest in downtown Hamilton on Saturday, you might want to go early. The National Weather Service forecast calls for mostly dry weather with highs in the upper 40s on Saturday, and while organizers of the ice-carving competition say the temperature has a minimum effect on ice sculptures, the sun can be a problem. 

"The UV rays are the killer -- they actually fragment the piece and it changes the structure of the ice and makes it uncarvable," said Jeff Stahl, co-owner of Artic Diamond, an ice-sculpting company in Cincinnati.

More than 40 businesses and corporations have signed up as sponsors for the event and each sponsor will be represented by an ice sculpture created by Stahl and his partner, Matt Williams. 

"The sculptures are going to be put out Friday evening so they will not be affected by the sun," Stahl said. He said that even if the temperature gets to 50 degrees, the worse that can happen to the carvings is that the texture of the ice is affected and the sculptures change in shape -- but they will hold up. 

Stahl said the best viewing time for the sponsor sculptures is 10 a.m. to noon. The professional competition will be held regardless of the weather, Stahl said. "Professional carvers prepare themselves for adverse weather," he said. "They use tents with UV protection and dry ice to hold their piece together."

He added that the weather may add some drama to the competition. "The more technical the piece the higher the score, so the carvers try to make these incredible pieces in the four-hour time period knowing that they could lose a piece of the sculpture or the entire sculpture," he said. "So some of the pieces may not make it to the competition." The pieces crash before they melt, he said. "That's the nature of the medium, it's kind of a win or lose sort of thing," he said. "It is sad, but it adds a little drama." 

Stahl and Williams, who won top honors in ice sculpting in Ashland, Ohio, and qualified for the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, prepare for warm weather. "We plan our pieces regardless of the weather," he said. "Our design is meant to last in the very worse of conditions -- we always go for the gold." 

A number of activities are planned from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, including a snowball toss, miniature golf for children using ice sculptures, music, carving competitions and speed-carving exhibitions. Neil Cohen, a member of the Hamilton City of Sculpture Inc. board of trustees, said that organizers are looking forward to the upcoming festival. "We continue to be very excited," he said. "The sculptures will still be on display, the artists will still come to town and participate in the juried competition, and everyone will still have a wonderful time."