Carmel Festival of Ice kicks off Friday
CARMEL, Ind. (WISH) — Carmel’s sixth annual Festival of Ice kicks off Friday.
The event runs through Sunday and includes ice carving demonstrations and contests, ice skating on Carter Green, and the Carmel Fire Department’s chili cookoff.
Dozens of professional ice sculptors will take part in several competitions during the festival, leading up to the grand finale — a fast-paced “carve off” contest on Sunday.
The carvers begin with a 300-pound block of ice and use chainsaws and other tools to make astounding pieces of art to be put on display for the public.
Stephan Koch, of Daleville, Ind., is one of the professional ice sculptors in town for the event. Koch says many of the competitors share a similar background.
“Most people got into it through culinary school. It’s a culinary art like butter carving or chocolate carving — ice is one of those things. So most ice carvers used to be chefs.”
Kochran explained a bit of the ice carving process to News 8’s Cody Adams on Friday.
“We make it in an ice block maker, which sounds pretty silly, I know. It makes this block of ice. It’s a 300-pound block of ice, and it takes three days to make, and we freeze it clear by agitating the water while it’s freezing.”
The Festival of Ice weekend kicks off Friday at 4 p.m. with ice sculpting demonstrations in the Carmel Arts & Design District. The event moves to the Ice at Carter Green on Saturday and Sunday.