Snow Sculpture in the Dark

Although Loveland, just south of Fort Collins, is named for a man (railroad entrepreneur William A.H. Loveland) and not an emotion, the town is known as the Sweetheart City and honors the ‘love’ in its name with lots of fun activities this time of year. For 67 years, volunteers with the valentine re-mailing program have hand-stamped hundreds of thousands of cards with a special postmark. During February, red hearts with personalized messages hang throughout town. And for the past couple of years, the downtown has hosted Snow Sculpture in the Dark—a winter festival offering food, drinks, art, parades, and snow sculptures.

Because it’s been as dry as a can of Pringles around here, the snow was man-made and then stomped into sculpture-worthy pedestals by dozens of willing feet. Despite warm daytime temperatures, the sculptors were able to pull off some amazing artistry. This was my family’s first visit, and we were not disappointed.

And there was tiny ice bowling…with a frozen chicken for a ball.

This year’s event was sanctioned and the winners will compete at the U.S. Snow Sculpting Nationals. First Place went to Ray the Manta Ray, and People’s Choice was Snow Swans. But they all looked like winners to me. I wish the sculptors best of luck at the national competition! And Happy Valentine's Day to you all.