newsminer.com

Photo by Eric Engman

Photo by Eric Engman

FAIRBANKS — Harvesting takes on a chilly new meaning when it’s late November and ice blocks are the crop being reaped.

On Saturday, about a half dozen North Pole volunteers spent the day cutting and fishing large blocks of ice out of a gravel pit just off Mission Road in preparation for North Pole’s second Christmas in Ice celebration.

Although this is North Pole’s second Christmas in Ice event, it is the first time glistening blocks of blue-hued ice have been harvested in North Pole.

Frosty facial hair and thick wool caps replaced the sweaty brows and straw hats usually associated with harvest work.

“We’re pretty much a green crew,” said Aino Welch, the event’s PR elf, who was outfitted in a Santa hat. “The equipment is either purchased or borrowed.”

Last year, the block ice was provided by Ice Alaska, which shared and continues to share its years of expertise with the local organizers of North Pole’s ice event.

The ice blocks will be the medium for North Pole’s second Christmas in Ice ice carving competition, which kicks off Wednesday with the lighting of an 8-foot Thanksgiving Turkey — carved in ice, of course — in front of the event’s staging area, Santaland RV Park.

Encased in bulky winter clothing and bunny boots, the volunteers moved slowly and carefully across the pond’s frozen surface. Using chains, a crew of two marked a grid atop the ice, later outlining it with blue marking paint.

The roar of a powerful, long-bladed chain saw filled the air as another man carefully scored a marked area, then sawed deep into the ice.

Nearby, two men armed with long-handled ice probes stood at the ready, waiting to pull the newly-cut blocks down a short channel to the waiting blades of a boom forklift that hoisted them up, one by one, onto a waiting trailer. There, two workers aligned the blocks in place for delivery to Santaland RV Park.

On Dec. 4, ice artists will begin two and a half days of ice carving competition events, setting the theme for continuing holiday displays and festivities throughout Santa’s hometown during the month of December.

According to Welch, there will be a minimum of 24 slots for ice carvers and most likely more.

Dec. 6 will feature a kids’ carving challenge from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and at 3 p.m. will be the ice-carving competition awards ceremony.

On the same day, North Pole’s annual tree-lighting ceremony will get underway at 4 p.m., followed by a Winter Carnival fireworks display at the North Pole Mall at 5 p.m.

Other December activities include the Dec. 7, 2 p.m. candle-lighting ceremony at North Pole High School; a Dec. 13 Winter Picnic sponsored by BP and free admission to the Ice Park; Dec. 20, noon to 4 p.m. Interior Freight Dogs Association Competition, and Dec. 25 at 2 p.m., a Family Christmas Celebration with Santa Claus.

This year, the ice park will include an expanded children’s play area, extra ice sculptures and a food and beverage concession during park hours.

Buzz Otis, the city’s economic director, was clad in Carhartts and helping out with the ice harvesting. The event, he said, brings more people into the community during the off season.

But beyond economics, Otis said the holiday event is a community unifier.

“The biggest thing is the sense of community it brings. If you want a vibrant community, people want to be part of it,” he said.

Nonprofit organizations and individuals interested in helping with or participating in the event should contact Diane Williams (378-3200). An intermediate ice-carving workshop will be held Nov. 29 at the North Pole Grange. Contact John Poirrier (322-0623) for additional information or visit www.christmasinice.org.