After a successful first year that drew huge crowds, the massive “Narnia-like” ice castle will once again be built in Hawrelak Park.
Ice Castles, which has built castles across the United States since 2009, is again partnering with the City of Edmonton and the Silver Skate Festival to bring the winter attraction back to the park in Edmonton’s river valley.
Watch Below: While many tend to stay indoors when the mercury drops, the city and private enterprises are looking to change that with a number of initiatives. Quinn Ohler takes a closer look.
Construction will begin in November, and weather permitting, the acre-sized castle will be open from late December to March.
READ MORE: What goes into constructing Edmonton’s ice castle?
Crafted by hand using only icicles and water, the ice castle will have tunnels, a waterfall and a throne room. The castle will also house a tubular ice slide and a winding ice maze.
LED lights embedded in the ice will light the castle up at night.
Last year more than 20 workers started creating the cool curiosity at the end of November. They grew at least 10,000 icicles per day on racks using sprinklers, with hoses running 23 million litres of water from a fire hydrant. The chunks were then placed by hand on top of each other and fused in place with more sprinklers.
The Ice Castle will be open from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursdays, 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and noon to 10 p.m. on Saturdays. The castle will be closed on Tuesdays.
Last year organizers were hoping the ice castle would remain open until March, but were forced to close early due to unseasonably warm temperatures in February.
General admission tickets will be $12.95 during the week and $15.95 on the weekend. For full ticket information, visit the Ice Castles website.
Watch Below: Hundreds of Edmontonians flocked to Hawrelak Park to experience the massive ice castle last year. Brent Christensen, founder of Ice Castles, joined the Morning News to talk about the attraction and what went into building it. (Jan. 26, 2016)
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