As the assistant show producer at ICE!, the Gaylord National hotel’s chilly holiday attraction that runs through Sunday, Walter helped oversee the sculpting of more than 2 million pounds of ice into characters from DreamWorks’ Christmas special “Merry Madagascar.” Take us through the process of creating the ice sculptures.
We take it from the design stage, where we’re given all the detailed drawings. We take that to the artists, and the artists just replicate what they see on paper. There’s very exact measurements, and the drawings are very detailed, down to distinctive facial features and things like that. These professionals just take those drawings and start carving away.
Who are the sculptors?
The sculptors come from Harbin, China. It’s the capital city in a province in the northeast side of China, bordering Russia, and they have a yearly festival (the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival) that runs until February or March, depending on the weather.
How long does the whole process take?
From start to finish, it’s about a month with 12-hour days. They work in shifts, so there are enough workers — we have about three dozen workers who come in, on average. It really is approximately 2 million pounds. As the ice comes in, it’s strategically placed in a certain spot in the tent. Nobody is stepping on everybody else’s toes. It’s like a stage production, really.
Isn’t it cold in there?
During the 12-hour day they might work for a half-hour to an hour in the tent, thaw out and get something to eat or drink, and then another shift goes in there. And they keep rotating like this, so they’re not in there all the time. But these are people who are used to temperatures that go down to about minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit. So they’re pretty well used to this kind of environment.
– Ben Giles
