Jan. 10, 2013 - Issue #899: The games we play
Deep Freeze:
A Byzantine Winter Festival
/ Epic Photography
Winter isn't all frigid wind chills and a never-ending battle with the snowy driveway. The season is full of celebration, and offers its own opportunities for fun and frivolity, particularly during those oh-so-precious "warm" days.
Encouraging this celebration for the sixth year—this time with a dose of the wild west as the 2013 theme—is Deep Freeze: A Byzantine Winter Festival, situated along closed blocks of 118th Ave between 90th and 94th Streets. Tradition meets contemporary as the Russian/Ukrainian "Olde New Year" is ushered in along with a multitude of winter activities.
The jam-packed roster includes a chisel and chainsaw ice-carving competition, deep freezer races, ice hockey tournaments, cultural dance, music, art shows, theatre, a fireworks tribute to Don Snider and a thaw hut design competition in partnership with Media Art and Design Exposed in Edmonton (MADE) and ReStore.
"We have six designers, architects and builders coming in to build," says the festival's artistic producer Christy Morin. "Fire is not allowed inside the huts, so it's finding ways to be creative and be eco-friendly."
The festival will go on snow or shine, and Morin hopes the weekend's events can continue to bring some excitement to winter with both its indoor and outdoor activities.
"Winter, it's who we are in a lot of ways in Edmonton and festivals go hard throughout the year, and I think we as a city community are beginning to realize that's who we are and we need to embrace what it is," she adds. "That doesn't mean that we have to love -40 C, but it means we can come out and enjoy it when there's time to come out and play."
Sat, Jan 12 (Noon – 4 pm); Sun, Jan 13 (Noon – 2 pm)
118 Ave, Free
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