Hawrelak Park is home to a number of major events in Edmonton throughout the year. Since New Year’s Eve, it has been host to the Ice Castles, a spectacular scene that looks like it came directly out of the film Frozen. A fountain, slide, and maze are just a few of the components of the castles, made up of icicles that were grown by hand, totally over 25,000 tonnes of ice over a one-acre area. The results are absolutely breathtaking. The attraction is open almost every evening, but has been especially popular on weekends, when it has consistently sold out.
This may have been the last weekend to take in the Ice Castles. The unusually mild winter has called the future of the attraction in question (it was originally scheduled to go into March). However, the weekend was extra busy because the annual Silver Skate Festival was also taking place in park. The Silver Skate Festival features an international snow sculpture competition, live musical entertainment, and a variety of outdoor sports competitions.
Edmonton is definitely a winter city, and events like the Ice Castles and Silver Skate Festival provide reasons to get out of the house and enjoy the outdoors.
