Fete De Glance in St. Charles, Missouri

The Fete De Glance or Festival of Ice, is an annual event held in historic downtown St. Charles, Missouri. It is an outdoor event that is free and open to the public. This year was absolutely amazing. The streets were closed off except for the huge trucks that came in the early morning to deliver the large blocks of ice required for the event. Each contestant was provided with a designated area and five huge blocks of ice weighing over 170 pounds each. The blocks took at least 2 people to lift and maneuver them as they carefully worked to position them and mold them into their final product.

SEE PHOTOS OF THE EVENT HERE

Onlookers gathered around to watch as the Ice Carvers used a variety of tools from hand chippers to chain saws to carve out their amazingly detailed creations. Some of the final works included characters from the movie Cars, a mountable dragon, a tiger, and a creature from the new motion picture movie Avatar. Each carver used basic techniques to start their creations, tracing a two dimensional cardboard cutout and then using a variety of tools to shave off huge chunks of ice. The unique techniques changed with each individual when it came to the details.

Terrence Hamner created the "Eye of the Tiger" which was one of the more unique creations of the day. The ice ball that the Tiger was balancing on had a blue star as a focal point of his carving. When asked how he was able to create the blue star, he disclosed his secret technique. He said, "It's a full block of ice, cut in half, then you put a star in each end. I took a medical syringe and injected food coloring and gelatin into it."

Many of the competitors have been in the event every year for over 5 years including Gary of the Hall/Modica team who carved the huge ice bar featuring a detailed bottle of Jack and two tumblers. The detail of the bar was amazing. Channel 2 News took several clips of him as he hand carved details in the bar. They also interviewed those who were watching and featured some well-bundled youngsters on the 9 o'clock news in conjunction with some stories about the cold weather. The City of St. Charles was thoughtful enough to provide several wood burning heaters randomly located throughout the streets where visitors could warm their hands and bottoms in the early hours of the day. The afternoon was a bit more tolerable.

Although some of the sculptures started melting with a direct hit from the afternoon sun, according to Fox News, this year was the 35th-coldest temperatures of all times for January. So, overall, it was a great year for the ice carving competitions. Because there wasn't any wind, it was also nice for those who attended the event.