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Home About Us B2B Club Breaking News Contact Donate Events / Programs Feedback Ideas Incubator Industry Clusters Links / Resources Progess Funds Progress Teams Public Art / Murals Publications		Breaking News December 27, 2005 - Group prepares for snow sculpture show By Beth Burger, Daily Tribune Staff A local group hopes to get the community playing in the snow this February. Of course, there's a catch. They'll be competing to create the best designs at the first Wisconsin Rapids Snow Sculpture Spectacular. Teams made up of families, company groups, classrooms and others will take to the snow piles to create their masterpieces at Veterans Memorial Park on Feb. 4. Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran School is one of six teams that have registered for the event so far. Ruth Macomber, who teaches art at the school, knows her team of students, staff and parents will win the competition. "I am a big person for rivalry and we will absolutely have a team," she said. "The more you have, the faster it goes." Macomber would not disclose her team's strategy or what it is they will be building, but said she looks forward to the event. Michael Sponholtz of Milwaukee also will work on a snow sculpture but will not compete. Sponholtz, a member of Team USA Snow Sculpture, will create an animated cranberry figure for the event with his three-man team. "We can do anything and everything," said Sponholtz, asked what the group can sculpt from snow. Team USA spends an average of about three days sculpting a statue. Snow works well for sculptors, he said. "It's the only material available to a sculptor that you can do a monumental piece in a matter of days. ... And we do it every day in the winter time," Sponholtz said. So far his team has created 140 sculptures around the world. One of the group's more memorable pieces was a replica of Mount Rushmore, which used 76 10-yard truckloads of snow. Sponholtz, who has been snow sculpting for 20 years, has advice for local competitors. "Just let your mind go. You've got to use common sense as far as gravity goes, but don't be intimidated by the material," he said. A good tool for sculpting is a bent ice chipper, he said. Snow sculpting is a challenge, Sponholtz said. "It's terribly taxing on the body. You're out there freezing and you want to quit, but as soon as you are done you can't wait for the next one to start." But participants in the Snow Sculpture Spectacular won't have to stay out in the cold. There will be a warming tent on site as well as food vendors for teams. The most ideal weather for the event will be cold, dry and sunny. However, if weather does not permit the contest, it will be delayed until 2007, said one of the organizers, Phil Hartley. Five members of a Heart of Wisconsin Leadership Class came up with the event as a project. It will cost an estimated $5,000. "People want the downtown to be more revitalized, to be more of a hopping place. We took that into account," Hartley said. "And we wanted something that would benefit all age groups. We thought we could do something to bring in more tourism." The contest will be divided into two categories -- one for families and another for businesses and organizations. Cash and merchandise prizes will be awarded to the winners. Local celebrity judges will determine the winners, he said.
		Copyright © 2005, Community Progress Initiative, South Wood County & Town of Rome