Silver Skate Festival going strong at 25

Alberta is cursed with one of the coldest climates in Western Canada. The long winter nights and sub-zero temperatures incite daily grumbling.

However, the Silver Skate Festival, a 10-day extravaganza of sports and arts, fire and ice, transforms a depressing time into one of the most exciting undertakings of the year. It ignites our joie de vivre.

Now celebrating its own 25th silver anniversary, organizers are making sure there is a lot to see and do. There is a broad band of free activities ranging from large-scale snow and fire sculptures, roving performers, an epic ice slide and horse drawn sleigh rides to a zombie run, snowshoe races, Kortebaan races and a winter triathlon.

“It’s such a big deal. It’s a festival people go to and feel the community spirit. It’s free. It’s family oriented. It’s an artistic and physical festival and it’s a great distraction from the long winter months,” said visual and performance artist Mariann Sinkovics.

Last year, Sinkovics used her hybrid artistic talents as the stilt walking Queen of Machine Land. This year she is shifting gears as a team leader creating one of the festival’s four fire sculptures. She leads her burn on Sunday, Feb. 15.

Since the first fire sculpture was introduced in 2011, it has rapidly become a favourite activity – much of it due to the flames’ mesmerizing quality.

“Not only does it provide contrast to the weather, it is also a cleansing force and it’s so exciting to see the transformation. Its flames are hypnotic, dangerous and hard to control. It’s like another being you can’t possess. It definitely demands respect and inspires awe.”

Sinkovics’ team of four is building a 10-foot sculpture roughly shaped like a heart.

“My father is ill and going through the last stages of life. When you go you leave behind nothing but the spirit. I have a chartreuse coloured fabric that will be stretched over wood. It will look like a heart – the centre of where a soul would live.”

The Sturgeon County-based Sinkovics family were long-time flower vendors at the St. Albert Farmers’ Market and well known to several generations of people.

The fire sculptures are also set up as a ritual for burning regrets. Visitors can write their regrets on paper that is collected and lodged in the fire sculptures for the flaming.

“You bring your regrets and it’s an opportunity to have a release, a catharsis in a community setting.”

Grounded in the Dutch tradition of canal racing, the 10-day festival is a far cry from the first year when immigrants planned a single day of competitive fun carrying skates and a basket of snacks.

Although largely weather dependent, the festival attracted more than 70,000 visitors last year.

“It’s grown into something magnificent as an international level festival. There’s something for everybody. The strong components just keep getting stronger. For instance, The Folk Trail, the festival’s most magical event, was started as an experiment a few years ago and grew into a staple,” said Marc J. Chalifoux.

The St. Albert High alumnus has been the festival’s official photographer for the last decade. Through his lens, Chalifoux has watched the festival undergo the necessary growing pains to become a tourist destination.

“In my mind, it’s our version of the Quebec Winter Carnival. It’s Edmonton’s longest running winter festival and maybe the biggest. What surprises me is that a lot of people don’t know about it. It’s really the city’s best kept secret.”

As part of the 25th anniversary celebrations, organizers have also introduced Wintertide, a collection of Chalifoux’s most dramatic images now on view at Edmonton City Hall.

“It’s 21 photos of the best moments of the Silver Skate Festival in the last 10 years,” said Chalifoux.

In a salute to the festival’s silver anniversary, the snow sculpture symposium will pay homage to the story of Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates, a novel that explores honour among youth.

In addition to Alberta snow sculptors Brian MacArthur and Michael Decarie, various teams from Ukraine, Italy, Mexico as well as Argentina and Chile will chisel a temporary snow sculpture garden. Their canvas is eight cubic blocks of snow measuring eight feet high by eight feet wide by eight feet deep.

Festival organizers have also added a scavenger hunt to the already broad list of events. For $5, participants are given a card with hints. Whoever returns with a full card receives a pendant and is eligible for larger prizes.

The Heritage Village continues the tradition with a Cree lodgepole camp.

“People can learn to build a winter lean-to with spruce boughs such as the one that was used in the traditional hunting community,” noted festival producer Erin DeLoreto.

Returning to this family-friendly extravaganza are numerous recreational activities such as cross-country skiing, snow luge and broomball. For the competitive athlete yearning to test his mettle, the popular Kortebaan (a traditional speed-skating sprint race), the winter triathlon and marathon skate races are up for grabs.

Anyone looking for a laid-back day can enjoy sleigh rides, dog mushers, blacksmith demonstrations, storytelling, a lantern parade and live music.

The festival runs Feb. 13 to 16 and 21 to 22 at Hawrelak Park. Snow sculptures, skating on the lake and an ice slide can be enjoyed throughout the week.

For a complete list of events or more information visit www.silverskatefestival.org.