By Amber Nesspor
Every four years, millions of people uniformly assemble to observe and take part in the Olympics. Far beyond the main events such as Ice Hockey, Figure Skating, Snowboarding, etc exists a competition largely unnoticed by the general public: the Cultural Olympiad. The Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad is a collaboration and a celebration of the contemporary arts and disciplines featuring such talents and events as music, dance, film, visual arts and more. These events are a remarkable spectacle of talent that is not given the proper exposure that these extraordinary individuals deserve.
One vastly underexposed event in the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad is the Ice Art World Championship. This event, which is held in Richmond B.C.’s O-Zone, consisted of a two-day carving competition between 12 two-man teams from across the world. Richmond’s O-Zone is home to the Olympic Oval, City Hall & Richmond Cultural Centre. Since opening day on February 12, 2010 a crowd of over 300,000 people have enjoyed the many family-friendly activities that the O-Zone offers.
Saturday, February 20 was the first day of the Ice Art World Championship. Each Ice Carving team was given a total of 3,000 pounds of ice to sculpt. With a tight criterion, the sculptures were judged based upon the predetermined theme: hopes and dreams, as well as other areas of technicality such as: team skill, artistic expression, stability and originality.
The United States was well represented by three two-man teams. Phoenixville’s very own locals and returning Olympic title holders Kevin Gregory & Antonio Young from Ice Concepts Inc. set out to defend their names. Their previous world titles emerged from their 2002 bronze medal win in Salt Lake City, Utah and their 3rd place victory in realism & 4th place victory in abstract categories from 2006 in Torino, Italy.
On the first day of their timed-12 hour carve they battled nature with abnormally warm temperatures. All contestants were forced to carve beneath a protective tent in effort to fight the warming effect of spring like weather. Thousands of spectators lined up single file, patiently waiting to watch the carvers’ mid-action.
The spectators were left speechless at the almost magical construction of the ice, the drone of the chainsaws, the ease at which the chisels would glide across and detail the ice, and many other tools that were put to use with a seeming effortlessness and a sense of grace by the carvers. The adults were astounded much like little children at Disney World, flashing cameras & asking more questions than a toddler. Due to the volume of people the carvers were beyond thankful that the noises of the equipment drown out the mass of questioning adults.
Throughout the day the judges called out time as it declined. When the 20 minute warning was issued, there was a rush of last minute detail performed by all. Every piece that was constructed was seemed to immediately sparkle as time expired. Relieved and exhausted, every team had successfully completed the first round of their two-day carve.
In line with the predetermined theme Kevin and Tony focused on the innocence of a child’s “hope and dreams.” Their piece features a little girl who is unknowingly guarded by an angel who watches over her as majestically as the little girl is outwardly dancing. The second day of the competition featured a single block speed carve that was to parallel the previous days’ theme of hopes and dreams.
At the close of the event Kevin and Tony placed 4th and received the “Carvers Choice” award which was a prestigious honor among well-respected industry professionals and peers.
