Visitors are encouraged to come out to the Vulcan Snow Park to watch sculptors at work during opening weekend (January 27-29). 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 are knocked down if they’re growing dangerously unstable, or may collapse on their own, so plan to visit them earlier in the week!

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 27-29). 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 27-29), 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 28), 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 27
  8 am to 10 pm – Exhibition sculpture progresses
  8 am to 10 pm – State Competition sculptures get started
• Saturday, Jan 28
  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 29
  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
• Monday, Jan 30 – Sunday, Feb 5
  9 am to 10 pm – Finished sculptures on display

More information:

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