Breckenridge is once again host to twelve teams from across the country to compete in the 34th Annual International Snow Sculpture Championships presented by Toyota. These teams include Finland, Argentina, USA: Wisconsin – Tomcza, Canada: Quebec, Germany: Bavaria, Republic of Korea, USA: Wisconsin – Vogt, India: Callisto, Mexico, Turkey, Mongolia, USA: Breckenridge.
Each team consists of four artists who have hand-carved away at the 12-foot-tall, 25-ton blocks of snow made by Breckenridge Ski Resort in the especially cool temps that Summit County faced last week due to the Arctic blast, transforming those blocks into intricate and mesmerizing works of art. The rules against power tools, colorants and internal support structures force the teams to work with ingenuity, making the results all the more impressive. The competitors worked around the clock from Monday through Friday (for approximately 94 hours) bringing their masterful visions to life by way of inventive carving devices — even vegetable peelers and chicken wire can make their way into the mix.
The teams are chosen through the Snow Sculpture Organizing Committee; they send 250 invitations in June and receive artist submissions in August. A selection committee then reviews entries and decides who is invited to participate. Each team’s sculpture symbolizes a greater message — titles and a summary of the sculpture’s meaning can be find on the voting page here (as well as on site).
After sculpting from Jan. 20 – 24, the viewing week is currently underway through Jan. 29. At any time, the Riverwalk Center is open to the public to stroll through and admire the temporary outdoor art gallery.
While the sculptures are striking to the eye at any time of day, you may want to make an additional visit during the evening hours for a different perspective. The nights feature changing LED lighting and white-only lights for 10 minutes every half hour on the hour, illuminating the sculptures in new light.
The awards ceremony took place on Jan. 24, at 5:30 p.m., where teams were awarded Gold, Silver, Bronze and Artists’ Choice by a panel of five professionals with backgrounds in art, curation and sculpture as judges. Judges base the winners on criteria including technical skill, creativity, expressive impact and continuity to the original design.
Upon viewing, you will get to see Team Germany’s “APEX – zero-gravity series,” that won gold, Team Mexico’s “Descendant,” that won silver, and Team India’s “Mind in Meditation,” that won bronze. Sculptors also voted for their favorite to win the Luthar Luboschik Artists’ Choice Award, which Team Mexico was the recipient of.
For the first time, the Breckenridge International Snow Sculpture Championships also includes free, on-demand visual interpretation and ASL interpretation for the Blind/Low Vision (BLV) community and Deaf community. Aira and Aira ASL will be present at the Welcome Center and ISSC event site. BLV individuals will be able to use their phone to have a live, expert visual interpreter there to enhance the event experience and deaf individuals will also be able to access live ASL interpretation to connect.
It is important to note that the International Snow Sculpture Championship draws thousands in attendance, potentially affecting regular traffic flow. Travelers can find road conditions and travel information at COtrip.org. While in town, consider using the free bus, carpooling or using a rideshare. Visitors can also access the B Like Breckenridge app to learn more about the sculptures, navigate the event and find tips about town.