2022 Ice Art Park open through March

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) - What happens when an outdoor pastime and freezing climates are combined?

If the guess was an Ice Art Park, that would be correct. The Ice Art Park located on Phillips Field Road in Fairbanks, has 150 spaces and is the largest world ice competition in the country. Built by sculptors from around the world, the park is made up of slides, mazes, playgrounds, and numerous carvings and sculptures.

Although Interior Alaska has witnessed multiple days of warmer temperatures, the mega slides are still solid for a few more weekends.

January’s park construction was challenged by the snowstorms that happened in December and required extra hands to plow through the snow.

The Ice Art Park is built on top of a pond and measures of protecting the structures include a train for travelers to see the built sculptures within the nearby forest.

The temperatures have to stay below freezing, 32 degrees Fahrenheit, for the frozen park to stay functional. Now that daylight saving time will bring more sunlight starting tomorrow, March 13, the park is getting close to its final days of the season. Dick Brinkley, an employee of the Ice Art Park, stated, “We work hard to protect our ice from the sun and that’s a really devastating factor here in Fairbanks because this time of the year the sun is so intense.”

The Ice Art Park is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. until the end of March. More information can be found on iceartpark.com.

Sunday, March 13 Daylight Savings Time begins. Be sure to set your clocks ahead 1 hour Saturday before going to bed.

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