Friday and Saturday, Heber Valley Artisan Cheese is hosting its third annual ice sculpture exhibition. Organizers say about 5,000 people came out last year, mostly from the Heber Valley and Wasatch Front, and they’re looking to double that number this year.
“They’re just going to see all these ice sculptures out in the field, and they get to just walk around and look at them and enjoy them. It’s been really fun,” founder Grant Kohler said.
It’s happening from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the dairy farm. Sculptor Darron Kingston will give a live demo at 4 p.m. Friday and at noon Saturday.
Local businesses are sponsoring each of the roughly 25 sculptures that’ll be there. After this weekend, they’ll either leave them in the field for people to keep visiting or take them for their own displays.
Last year, fans voted the favorite was a sculpture of Olaf, the talking snowman in the Disney movie “Frozen.”
There will be a giveaway of four free tickets to go tubing at the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center.
Three years ago, Kohler and his wife and co-founder, Coralee Kohler, wanted to start something fun for the community in January, when there typically aren’t many events scheduled in the valley.
“We’re always looking for things we can do, fun events that will draw people up to Midway,” Grant Kohler said. “One night, [Coralee] was watching a Hallmark movie, and they did an ice sculpture thing. She says, ‘You know, that would be really fun,’ and so we decided to do it. This will be our third year, and it’s just kind of gone on from there.”
The ice sculptures exhibit is not affiliated with the Ice Castles at Soldier Hollow, which are also open this month.
You can see the free ice sculpture exhibit at Heber Valley Artisan Cheese, located at 920 River Road in Midway.
