Gimli Ice Festival boasts prototype snowman sculptures, frozen T-shirt contest

The GimliIce Festival's frozen T-shirt contest isn't what you think it is.

"We freeze T-shirts into balls, large snowballs," said Susan Holfeuer, co-founder of the festival, which is back for its seventh editionthis weekend in the Manitoba Interlake town.

"They have to bust them apart and get that shirt on as quick as possible. Winner takes home a trophy."

Holfeurer said there are also some new things to see at the popular festival.

For example, two Regina entrepreneurs who were recently featured onCBC TV's Dragons' Den will show off their reusable, inflatable ice sculpture mouldsat the festival.

Holfeuersaw them on the TV show andwas intrigued.

The mouldsthe first of which is shaped vaguely like a snowmanare made up of two layers that allowthe mould to be filled with water. When the water is frozen, the inner mould is deflated and the outer mould, made of silicone, simply peels off. The result? A snowman-shaped ice sculpture, ready to be decorated and lit from the inside with LEDs.

"I contacted [the entrepreneurs] via social media and they decided it would be awesome to come down to the Gimli Ice Festival to set up their prototype to show it off. And they'll be dressed up like snowmen and it's a laser show all in one. We're really stoked. They had it on last night, and it'll be [on] tonight."

Magic Ice

7 years ago

Duration 8:06

Business partners from Regina, Sask. say they have a cool, magical solution for outdoor holiday decorating.

Other events include car racing on ice, pond hockey demonstrations, traditional bannock and tea, and everyone's favourite the frozen fish toss.

"It's an old Icelandic game they used to play where they take the fish and throw it intoa target or a bucket," said Holfeuer.

"We used to do it for distance but now we do it in a bucket. And they can kiss the fish and take a second shot if they like."

Of course, no Gimlifestival would be complete without Vikings, who will do everything from combat demonstrations to storytime reading for the kids.

"Thisis a fantastic community in the summertime," said Holfeuer. "There's a lot of different events going on, different festivals, and unfortunately in the winter, it's a little quiet in our [community].

"We just decided we can have just as much fun [in the winter]. We're Manitobans, we're hardy, we like the winter, so let's do something."

The Gimli Ice Festival runs until Sunday. Admission is $5 for a weekend pass.