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Festival ice sculptures underway after weather delays

Dave Mattocks works on a snow sculpture for Festival du Voyageur. Talia Ricci / Global News

WINNIPEG – Some Manitobans may not welcome the cold back with open arms but for ice sculptures preparing for Festival du Voyageur, the cold is a relief.

“This is perfect weather right now,” said Irina Bissonnette with Festival. “We do have blocks of snow ready for ice sculptures all around the city.”

After above seasonal and above average temperatures throughout January, organizers of Festival were getting a bit nervous about the delayed process of carving the ice sculptures, which is a main attraction.

“There was a little bit of a delay, but overall things are well on their way,” said Bissonnette. There will be 16 sculpture at the Festival grounds and eight more throughout the city.

“We’ve completed two sculptures just to have them melt away at the surface,” said Dave Mattocks, one of the artists. “We’re going to have to go back now and do something with them to make them look better.”

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Mattocks is working on a total of five sculptures and plans to take advantage of the cold weather throughout the weekend.

“If you’re working, it’s not cold. The colder it is, the harder you work, the warmer you stay,” said Mattocks.

Winnipeggers will start seeing the completed pieces throughout the city in the next two weeks. Festival runs from February 13th-22nd.

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