International Snow Sculpture Championships Return to Breckenridge

The Budweiser Select International Snow Sculpture Championships return to Breckenridge for the 16th year, January 24-29, 2006. This year, 13 teams from nine countries, including, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Mexico, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United States will participate in the competition. The event takes place at the Riverwalk Center, located in the heart of Breckenridge between Main Street and Park Avenue. This event is attended annually by over 30,000 people from across the U.S. and the world and has been named by USA Today as one of the top 10 ways to celebrate winter. The event begins at 11 a.m. on Tuesday with the Starbucks Shotgun Start. The complete Schedule is attached.

The Budweiser International Snow Sculpture Championships have long been known for bringing together diverse cultures. “Each year, the competition steps up to create even more amazing works of art than the previous year,” notes Sally Croker, Breckenridge Resort Chamber Event Director. “I believe the camaraderie between the teams during the competition contributes to that excellence.”

Each year, four-person teams are assigned 12-foot-tall, 20-ton blocks of machine-made snow. These teams work within a five-day period to create sensational sculptures. From these blocks of snow, the teams often create enormous pieces of whimsy, although some deliver powerful political or social commentary. Some sculptures are even interactive and allow spectators to experience the tactile as well as visual grace of the fleeting exhibit.

The finished pieces are achieved after a total of 65 intense hours of work without the use of power tools, internal support structures or colorants – just the ingenuity of man and a medium that lends itself, if only temporarily, to the persuasion of chisels, saws, chicken wire and even carrot scrapers.

When the sculptures are finished on Saturday, January 28, a panel of well-known artists and patrons of the arts serve as judges and present awards to the first, second and third place sculptures. Awards are also given for People’s Choice, Kids’ Choice and Artists’ Choice. There are no cash prizes; the artists instead revel in the reward of hard work, forged friendships, freedom of artistic expression and the satisfaction of long hours of preparation that lead to the event.

For a more information, visit www.gobreck.com or call 877-864-0868.