Saturday’s light dusting could amount to a couple of inches of snowfall by Tuesday, but for the St. Paul Winter Carnival, it is officially too little, too late.
On Saturday, carnival organizers announced that the annual snow sculpture contest is canceled this year because of the lack of snow.
The contest had been scheduled Jan. 29 to Feb. 6 at the State Fairgrounds.
Organizers have been watching the weather closely since Jan. 1 and exploring options to get snow to the Fairgrounds.
When mid-January arrived and the ground was still brown, organizers concluded the contest would not be practical, said Steve Gurney of the Imperial Order of Fire and Brimstone, a group of past Winter Carnival Vulcans who put on the event.
“It’s unfortunate, but we are not able to do it this year. It would both be very expensive and the quality would not be what we strive for,” he said.
Gurney was not sure if the event had ever been canceled because of mild weather. Snow has been hauled in for the event at least once, he said.
Organizers spoke with recreational areas that agreed to make the snow for free, Gurney said, and one company that would provide dump trucks at no charge. But the effort still would have cost about $8,000, he said.
Four dump trucks would need to haul snow for at least three days in order to transform the Fairgrounds into a winter wonderland, Gurney estimated.
The children’s snow maze and fire truck rides that usually accompany the contest also have been canceled, Gurney said.
Organizers are working to plan a smaller event – with a couple of snow sculptures and fire truck rides – in downtown St. Paul’s Rice Park at the end of the month.
Copyright 2012 Pioneer Press.
