Thousands of people from St. Albert and beyond appreciated the warm weather for the Fire and Ice Festival at Lacombe Lake Park on Family Day, but it wasn’t universally appreciated.
Relatively warm temperatures – a high of 4 C – and high winds wreaked havoc for both the ice sculptor and the fire dancers, two of the main attractions at the event. Fortunately both were nonetheless able to put on a show, even if they were somewhat limited.
Ice sculptor Barry Collier said one of the big challenges for him is that the warm weather prevents the multiple ice blocks he uses from sticking together, meaning he is more limited in what he’s able to do.
“I wanted to do a Star Wars theme, like a battle between Yoda and Darth Vader, but that wouldn’t fly at all on account of the weather,” he said.
Instead he focused on a piece he could exclusively use power tools for – the ice is just to susceptible to chipping and breaking to be able to use chisels for the fine detail work in warmer weather.
Although it may not be exactly what he had in mind, the five-foot-tall flying eagle sculpture Collier created was a crowd pleaser, and fascinated festival-goers gathered to watch him work.
“It was actually good to work with the chainsaw because it cuts through very quickly and easily,” he said. “It would be nice to spend more time on detail but you just can’t, unfortunately.”
He said the sun itself isn’t necessarily the biggest challenge – it’s actually the wind that worries him the most – a strong gust could conceivably knock the piece over, especially as it’s created with several blocks one on top of the other that didn’t stick together very well in Monday’s conditions.
The strong wind – gusting up to 40 km/h at time throughout the day, also presented a big challenge for the fire-dancing duo Kumarango, comprised veteran dancers Marissa Puff and Kurt Couper.
“We actually had to move locations, because it was too windy where we were first set up,” Puff explained. “We were a little worried we weren’t going to be able to spin any fire today.”
After finding a better, less windy spot they were able to put on their shows, with hundreds crowded around to watch them dance, spinning a double-ended lit torch. They said while the size of the crowd always depends on what kind of event they’re performing at, the fascination people have with fire never changes.
“I think fire is something very primal. It represents life on one hand and fear on the other,” she said. “There’s a deep-rooted mystery with fire.”
“It can be uncontrollable,” Couper added. “And everyone likes a little danger.”
The danger of course was limited to the performers themselves, and even then the risk of serious injury is next to nothing.
“There’s always the scorched hair, and I’ve burned my knuckles up a little bit before,” Puff said. “Mostly just burns and welts.”
