Extreme ice battles cater to a Cotton St. crowd
-
<p>One of the 27 ice sculptures along Main Street on Saturday. (Bas Slabbers/for NewsWorks)</p>
-
<p>A hand made of ice points the way to parking. (Bas Slabbers/for NewsWorks)</p>
-
<p>A LOVE ice sculpture welcomes customers to The Little Apple on Main Street. (Bas Slabbers/for NewsWorks)</p>
-
<p>Dave Munson plays a rectangular shaped guitar for pedestrians near Main Street. (Bas Slabbers/for NewsWorks)</p>
-
<p>Customers of Winnie's Le Bus enjoy lunch along Main Street during the Saturday festival. (Bas Slabbers/for NewsWorks)</p>
-
<p>Matthew McKenna and Alyssa Emig watch one of the carvers at work. (Bas Slabbers/for NewsWorks)</p>
-
<p>An assistant gives a hand to sculptor Don Lowing as he uses a chainsaw to work on the big lines of his sculpture. (Bas Slabbers/for NewsWorks)</p>
-
<p>Brianne Dykema and Joe Parker from Manayunk pose for a shot during Saturday's festival. (Bas Slabbers/for NewsWorks)</p>
-
The 'Manayunk on Ice' festival is organized for the third time. Ice Sculptors from all over the country are showing their skills during the three day event. (Bas Slabbers/for NewsWorks)
-
<p>Dan Rebholz, an ice sculptor from Chicago, wows the crowd while he works. (Bas Slabbers/for NewsWorks)</p>
-
<p>Ice carving tools briefly at rest. (Bas Slabbers/for NewsWorks)</p>
-
<p>"For years I just carved with a shaver and a hand saw. It is mind boggling what these younger guys do with ice," says veteran ice carver and National Ice Carving Association Lead Judge Irv Brockson. (Bas Slabbers/for NewsWorks)</p>
-
<p>Peter Slavin and Don Harrison use an Alaskan Mill saw to split a large block of ice. (Bas Slabbers/for NewsWorks)</p>
-
<p>Amalie Margaret Casey, visiting from Taipei, checked out the action on Main St. on Saturday. (Bas Slabbers/for NewsWorks)</p>
-
<p>Ice Sculptor Kevin Roscoe from Seattle, Washington, makes final touches on his artwork on Saturday. (Bas Slabbers/for NewsWorks)</p>
“Manayunk On Ice” closed late yesterday afternoon with a carnivalesque scene on Cotton Street. For over four hours, professional ice sculptors competed head to head in 30-minute single-elimination rounds. The final two split a $2,000 prize sponsored by the Manayunk Development Corporation.
In the last heat before the semi-finals, kids in neon coats ran through the crowd towards a table offering candy and hot chocolate. Speakers blasted the song “Ice, Ice Baby,” and adults danced with toddlers.
On a stage constructed next to JD McGillicuddy’s, artisans Rob LoFurno and Erik Cantine took a break from working with 200-lb ice blocks and cut loose for the crowd. At the end of their half-hour rivalry, applause would determine which artist advanced. LoFurno, from Glen Mills, threw unwrapped cookies into the crowd. Maryland’s Cantine alternated between pumping fire from a torch in his left hand and spraying a fire extinguisher from his right. As the men turned back to finalize their sculptures, Peter Slavin of Fear No Ice reminded the audience what to consider as they voted.
Slavin, the emcee, began each round by giving the artists a theme. They then had four minutes to sketch a concept on ice or on paper before attempting to simultaneously execute their vision and garner crowd support.Speaking into a microphone, Slavin emphasized showmanship and technique.
“How well did they use the ice?” he asked. “Is [the design] precise? Does it have proper proportions? Is it artistic? Does it stimulate you? Does it move you?”
Cantine wore a plastic fireman’s hat and moved more slowly than LoFurno, an older and shorter man. Slavin had assigned the Philadelphia 76ers logo to the duo, and for most of the round, Cantine’s block looked undeveloped. In the final minutes, he whisked around his ice tools, poured water on his sculpture to clear away shavings, and revealed a basketball with the team’s logo atop a pedestal. The crowd preferred his design to LoFurno’s player in a Sixers’ jersey.
Cantine told NewsWorks that his height worked against him even though he won. At 6’4″, he prefers working with larger surfaces than the event allowed. “It’s a lot of pulling and muscle work with the single block sculptures,” he said, indicating that his lower back hurt.
When asked what he was going to do to recover before the semis, Cantine pointed to McGillicuddy’s. “I’m going to go in there.”
Alicia Dietzmann, Events Coordinator for the Manayunk Development Corporation, said she was thrilled with the size of the afternoon crowds. Not having attended the prior two “Manayunk On Ice” festivals, Dietzmann said Friday night’s bonfire was impressive, but the extreme carving competition was the highlight of her weekend. “It’s more laid back and funny,” she said. As she spoke, the first semifinal contestant, Philadelphia’s Don Lowing, took to the stage and started dancing and posing.
Slavin assigned a Liberty Bell theme to Lowing and Kevin Roscoe of Seattle. A crowd again assembled, which Slavin engaged by answering sculpting questions and talking about ice tools as the artists carved.After Lowing narrowly advanced, Erik Cantine fell and Chicago’s Dan Rebholz moved forward. As finalists, Lowing and Rebholz shared the $2,000 prize.
Like many members of the semi-final crowds, Eileen Lake of Wyndmoor and Caitlin Rothwell of Bala Cynwyd missed this year’s bonfire event on Friday night. Both attended the first “Manayunk On Ice” festival two years ago and remembered how much they enjoyed watching the sculptors rapidly work. Lake returned, she said, because “Manyunk On Ice” is such “a special event in the winter.”
WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.