First things first: There will be no clear plastic blocks masquerading as Minnesotan ice during the St. Paul Winter Carnival.
“Let’s quell this rumor. There ain’t no plastic on Harriet Island,” said Kate Kelly, president and CEO of the St. Paul Festival and Heritage Foundation. “You should see the hate mail I’m getting.”
Panicked by recent 40-degree weather and thin ice at Lake Phalen, carnival organizers had been scrambling to find thaw-proof contingency plans for one of their main attractions, the Amazing Ice Maze.
Last week, carnival officials publicly entertained the idea of constructing their labyrinth with plastic instead of harvesting ice from area lakes. The idea caused some carnival fans to blanch.
Organizers now say they’ll build the labyrinth mostly with packed snow, which can be easily manufactured and runs a lesser risk of melting. Instead of harvesting 2,000 blocks from Lake Phalen, workers will use about 400 blocks of commercially produced ice. Altogether, the labyrinth will consist of 90 percent snow and 10 percent ice.
“It’s going to give it a whole different effect, which is disappointing,” said carnival spokeswoman Mary Huss. “We’re going to have to call it a ‘snice’ maze.”
With mild weather predicted to persist throughout the week, officials are also assuring the public that all of the official carnival attractions are still a go.
“It’s going to be a ‘snow emergency’ in St. Paul,” Kelly said. “If you want to see snow, you’re going to have to come to Harriet Island.”
Kelly said she isn’t as concerned about projects that require snow. Even if the ground stays brown, she can always have the snow artificially produced.
Adrenaline junkies will get the chance to ride a 150-foot-long snow slide, which will be made of a straw platform covered with a bed of snow. For a giant snow sculpture, artists plan to create Jimmy Buffett’s palm-tree paradise.
Ice carvers will again try their hands at chiseling their masterpieces, thanks to the availability of manufactured ice. This time, a canopy will protect the carvings from direct sunlight. A general warming trend in recent years has made the ice sculptures especially disappointing for festival fans.
Last winter, ice carvings in Rice Park swiftly melted. Organizers canceled a softball-on-ice tournament because of thin ice. Because it was too warm for an ice-fishing contest, kids instead cast their lines into plastic buckets.
Car racers on ice also abandoned their original location of Lake Phalen last year and chased the freeze all the way to Lake Mille Lacs. Steve Dunsworth, president of the Twin Cities Ice Racing Association, was particularly bummed. A crew from Discovery Channel’s “Monster Garage” had initially planned to air a big segment on the Winter Carnival in conjunction with the ice racing at Phalen.
But after the race was moved to Mille Lacs, producers swapped out carnival footage with local color from Garrison, Minn.
“They showed a local clown sitting on a bucket, ice fishing,” said Dunsworth.
It looks like this year’s odds of putting on a Phalen race Feb. 3-4 are equally slim, and enthusiasts will probably again have to flee to a northern lake. The racers need about 18 inches of solid ice. Recent measurements have found Phalen’s ice thickness to be 4 to 5 inches.
“We got hit with the sixth-warmest December (since 1891), and January is starting out in the same sleazy mode,” said Dunsworth said. “We’re getting less sanguine by the moment. Are we going to be able to do this any year?”
Laura Yuen can be reached at lyuen@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5498.
PRECARNIVAL ACTIVITIES
Klondike Kate Contest
When: 6:30 to 10 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Prom Center, Oakdale
Cost: $10 advance; $15 at the door
Collector Memorabilia Show
When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday
Where: South St. Paul VFW
Cost: Free
Junior Royalty Coronation
When: 7 to 9 p.m. Jan. 19
Where: El Rio Vista Recreation Center in the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center, St. Paul
Cost: Free
Royal Guard Kick-Off Party
When: 7 p.m. Jan 20
Where: Gabe’s by the Park, St. Paul
Cost: $7
Multi-Block Ice Carving Competition
When: Jan. 24 -26
Where: Harriet Island
Cost: Free
Info: www.winter-carnival.com or 651-223-4700. 2007 ST. PAUL WINTER CARNIVAL
When: Jan. 26 to Feb. 4
Where: Most activities on Harriet Island
Buttons: On sale at various locations for $5, or $17 for a pack of four. Buttons mean free or discounted entry to some events.
Copyright 2007 Pioneer Press.
