Snow Park at the Fair: Snow Sculptures & More

Overview

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 24-26). 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.

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 24-26). 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 24-26), 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 25), 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. 24

• 8 am to 10 pm – Exhibition sculpture progresses
• 8 am to 10 pm – State Competition sculptures get started

Saturday, Jan. 25

• 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. 26

• 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. – Amateur Contest finished sculptures on display
• 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Exhibition sculpture progresses
• 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. – State Competition sculptures progress
• 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. – State Competition People’s Choice Award voting (vote for your favorite sculpture!)
• 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. – State Competition finished sculptures on display
• 2 p.m. – State Competition winners announced