I recently checked the Ice Alaska site and noticed that the dates for the 2010 World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks have been announced. The single block and multi-block competitions are the featured events, although there are many other events going on as well. Sculptors can enter either the Realistic or Abstract category in each competition, depending on their sculpture design.

    Single block competition (60 hours, 1 block, 1 or 2 person team): Starting February 23 at 9 am and going until February 25, at 9 pm.

    Awards ceremony: February 26 at 8 pm

    Multi-block competition (132 hours, 10 blocks, 2 to 4 person team): Starting February 28 at 9 am and going until March 5th at 9 pm.

    Awards ceremony: March 6th at 8 pm.

    Blocks for the Single block competition measure about 5’x8’x3’ while the multi-block blocks measure about 4’x6’x3’. If you’re interested in competing in ‘10, keep checking the Ice Alaska site for entry forms as they haven’t been posted yet. Any of this information could easily change, so you need to check with Ice Alaska to make sure of the dates and times if you’re making any travel plans.

    If you’re competing and would like to have your sculpture professionally photographed, contact Patrick Endres as early as possible because he told me that he only has limited availability for new clients. You can see samples of his work on this site as well, which should give you an idea as to why he’s so busy. He also took the photo above.