Ice sculptor says America’s 250th anniversary a big theme at Carved in Ice
With the United States celebrating its 250th anniversary this year, it’s no wonder that Glacial Ice Works saw a huge uptick in the number of patriotic sculptures commissioned for the upcoming Carved in Ice event.
Butler AM Rotary Club’s Carved in Ice event will return for its 10th year Friday and Saturday, Feb. 20 and 21. Along with ice sculptures set to populate Diamond Park during the weekend, the event will feature food, contests, activities for children and more.
Jared McAlister, owner of Glacial Ice Works in Pittsburgh, said this year, the event will feature 61 separate sculptures made out of 116 blocks of ice — about 17 tons of ice.
He said a portion of the sculptures being constructed for the event will lean into some patriotic themes.
“We’ve done the Statue of Liberty and the Liberty Bell for this,” McAlister said.
He said the uptick in patriotic designs has been widespread in ice carving commissions this year, but noted that the Butler community seems to have a strong love for the country.
“One thing we’ll have is a big American flag with ‘1776 to 2026’ written on it and the stars for the original 13 colonies,” McAlister said.
Besides the American-themed sculptures, he said one of the more interesting ones people will see is Bumble and Yukon Cornelius from “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”
“That was a really fun one to research and create a design for,” he said.
Another highlight to look out for is the ”Crystal Throne,” a design that McAlister said reminds him of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude.
“That’s a really fun one to make that looks really interesting too,” he said.
These designs and the dozens of others will be on display at Diamond Park. Some will be carved live during the event.
