Taking a lens to Silver Skate Festival

The final pieces of the puzzle are falling into place for Edmonton’s 26th annual Silver Skate Festival kicking off this weekend at Hawrelak Park.

Running from Feb. 12 to 21, this stunning outdoor winter festival sports large-scale snow and fire sculptures, an epic slide, roving performers, horse drawn sleigh rides, live music, winter sports and food trucks.

Festival producer Erin Di Loreto said the 10-day festival has grown substantially from its novice days celebrating Holland’s long-blade skating competitions to being one of Canada’s largest multi-purpose winter festivals.

Although initially rooted in sports, the festival has exploded into a pageantry of arts and culture alongside winter recreational activities.

This year the festival has expanded it’s indigenous Heritage Village featuring different interpretations of winter camps, bannock making, blacksmithing and a performance stage.

Also new to the festival is Everything Under the Rainbow, a celebration of diversity that includes a mini-triathlon for children seven to 12 years. And let’s not forget the jaw-dropping acre-sized Ice Castle, a stunning display of man-in-partnership with Nature’s frosty handiwork.

Of course, more activities translate into bigger draws for the $600,000 festival.

“In the last few years we’ve doubled our numbers. We’ve been going up by 19 per cent. Last year we had 85,000 visitors. This year, we’re expecting over 100,000 people,” said de Loreto.

One person with a unique perspective is Marc J. Chalifoux, now serving in his 10th year as the official festival photographer. Looking through his lens, he captures those magical moments that reflect the festival’s ongoing appeal and popularity.

“What is most appealing for me is the interactions between people,” said Chalifoux.

“It blows my mind to see how much fun people are having. How the growth of diverse arts and cultures around sports works so seamlessly together. How sports and arts are so different on a lot of levels, but every year they find ways to deepen the connections.”

A graduate of St. Albert High School’s class of ’86, Chalifoux spent six years in Asia with his wife teaching English, travelling on 10-month photo trips and even organizing a couple exhibitions of his work in Taiwan.

Their journeys took them across Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Nepal and India. But the lure of the north was too strong and in 2006, the budget travellers returned home.

Steeped in photographic experience, the shutterbug scouted the area for freelance work. At that time, former Mayor Stephen Mandel became pivotal as one of the first big boosters embracing Edmonton as a winter city. Through the Edmonton Arts Council, he offered grants to arts organizations for new projects explained Chalifoux.

And hungry local artists percolating with fresh ideas picked up the gauntlet and presented a variety of new projects to Silver Skate. By 2007, the once slim Silver Skate Festival had grown to a four-day event.

Chalifoux was brought in to photograph the festival’s growing list of sports, heritage, arts and cultural activities. Working 14-hours a day during the event-rich festival, he is always on the lookout for something new and different. This year, the Ice Castle is a pristine infusion of inspiration.

“I love it. I can’t wait for it to come back next year. It’s such a unique structure and it’s evolved so much since the initial launch,” he said.

“I’m most intrigued about shooting the structure against a stunning Alberta sky in the morning and evening. But the clouds have to be in the right position with orange tigery stripes in the sky. I’ve shot a lot of the structure, but I want to lock it into the Alberta sky.”

In looking back at his portfolio, one of his choice shots is of roving artist Mariann Skinkovics wearing drywall stilts and a steampunk costume framed against an orange sky.

“She was one of the characters on the Folk Trail and watching her interact with the kids just blew me away.”

Another dramatic shot that stands out in Chalifoux’s memory is of a special Kortebaan long-blade racing competition shot during an overcast day.

“From the back, it looked like they were skating down a plane runway.”

No matter how many times he shoots speed-skating competitions, there is always a sense of grandness to it.

“There’s a lot of tradition in skating, particularly the rituals. It’s still kind of regal and noble. It’s something to behold – a bunch of people taking the artistry of sports very seriously.”

Sports figures and the human form have intrigued visual artists since the beginning of time. And the festival’s artistic component has morphed into a hotbed of imaginative subjects.

One his photos captures the drama of motion, speed and grace. It is a snow sculpture of athlete barrelling wearing down a luge track wearing a Haida designed helmet.

“It was from the famous 2010 Winter Olympics. All the details from the racer’s helmet are carved in the snow. It was incredible.”

The Sculpture Garden is an oasis of ingenuity where he records the ephemeral snow sculptures for posterity. Somewhere in the archives is a photo of Thor holding a lightning bolt in his hand. And then there’s the tongue-in-cheek Inuit hunter riding a chunky polar bear. And in a nod to Slavic fables and fairy tales, the wicked witch Baba Yaga’s house squats on claws keeping curious children at arms length.

This year organizers have used one of his photos as a promotional billboard on Jasper Avenue. The photo is of actress Lianna Makuch playing the role of a princess crouched along the magical Folk Trail.

When he spotted the billboard, instead of grinning broadly with pleasure, he started to critique it.

“I was judging how I could have shot it better, how I could have made it pop differently. Or what I can do next year. In this business, you’re only as good as the last thing you shot. You always have to think on your feet so you can maintain an edge.”

And that philosophy is completely synchronized with the festival vision. For a complete list of activities visit silverksatefestival.org.