Festival du Voyageur snow sculptures take shape in St. Boniface

Over 20 snow carvers on eight international teams have spent hours sawing, cutting and sculpting snow into intricate designs for the 47th annualFestival du Voyageur.

Each winter since 1970,St.Boniface has turnedinto a winter wonderland to celebrate the voyageur way of life, and to promote French language andMtisculture. And the celebration wouldn't be as magical without itstowering snowy designs on the festival grounds and in Whittier Park.

Artists submit design proposals every fall. A committee with thefestival selects its favourites and invites sculptorsto come and work for four days on their submission.

The artists aren't paid for their time, although the festival does house and feed the carvers. This year there are teams from France, Germany, the United States, Ecuador and the Netherlands.

Gary Tessier,a snow carver and co-ordinatorwith theInternational Sculpture Symposium, said the unique creations are easy on the eyes.

"It's a living entity, as strange as that might sound," Tessiersaid, referring to the artists' work that is made out of a simple block of snow measuring in atthreemetres by3.7 metresby3.7 metres.

Tessier, whose been carving snow for over 30 years,has had workhe and his sons have completed displayed throughout the city. He and hisyoungest son Andre Vrignon-Tessiercarved the "J'ai la tete en gigue" sculpture onthe boulevard at Marion Street and St Mary's Road. His other son Denis Vrignon-Tessiercarved the "Belugas" sculpture at Main Street and Broadwaywith the help of a few close friends.

Tessier doesn'tconsiderthemild weather in the forecast to threaten the quality of thesculptures. He explained that the recent cold snap came at the right time, when the sculptures were newly carved. After those frigid temperatures swept through,the artworkfroze to the core.

At this point,Tessiersaid he'sconvinced the sculpturesare sturdy enough they could even withstand afew daysin above-zeroterritorybefore melting significantly.

Festival du Voyageur runs from Feb. 12 to Feb.21.