The construction has started in Stillwater to build a beautiful Ice Castles. Crews have been spraying water on Lowell Park since Tuesday to lay the foundation for the castles. They say it will take about more than three weeks to build the whole structure.
Ice Castle Under Construction In Stillwater's Holiday Celebration
According to ABC News, once the Ice Castle is built, they could accept visitors even around through March, depending on the temperatures. The ice castles will take over an acre of land in Stillwater, featuring tunnels, fountains, slides, frozen thrones and towers made entirely of ice and embedded color-changing LED lights. Organizers say the castles have become a must-see winter attraction. Last year they were built in Eden Prairie.
"I'm OK with this," Ice Castles LLC site manager Blake Hawbaker said as he surveyed the site near the St. Croix River. "There are some things that are going to require some pretty heavy attention, but for the most part we did pretty good. It's our first day running water, so we let the sprayers run for most of the day to build as big of an ice space as possible."
The site, on an acre of land just north of the Stillwater Lift Bridge, comes with challenges. It's surrounded by the river, the Lowell Park gazebo, a city parking lot, pine trees and a road. Last year's site in Eden Prairie was much larger and had more open space, Woodbury Bulletin reported. "Here, we need to protect the (Lowell Park) gazebo," Hawbaker said.
Keeping The Ice Castle In Shape
Once the construction is complete, crews will continue doing daily maintenance — about six hours a day of grooming and upkeep, Hawbaker said. Ice Castles is paying the city of Stillwater about $10,000 for use of Lowell Park, parking lot usage and power, said City Administrator Tom McCarty. A portion of the fee structure is dependent on overall attendance at the ice castle and demand for city services, he said.
Robin Anthony, executive director of the Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce said: "The event promises "a magical experience" for visitors to downtown Stillwater this winter. We are excited and proud to host the ice castles in our historic downtown Stillwater and hope to have it here for many years to come."
