Canmore’s third annual Winter Carnival is underway! We headed to Main Street Saturday morning, to watch the ice sculptors wield their tools of the trade and see what else was happening.

A centerpiece of the carnival is the snow track on Main Street. Starting a 6 o’clock Thursday evening, an enthusiastic crew hauled in 850 cubic meters of snow to pack and groom, creating a one meter thick, two block long cross-country ski track. Over the course of the 10-day carnival, this snow track is the site of cross-country ski races, recreational skiing, kid & mutt races and more.

One of the main events on Saturday was the ice carving competion, held at the Civic Centre Plaza. It looked to us like about 8 teams were taking part in this year’s competition. Spectators were offered free coffee from the coffee bar (carved from ice, of course). We enjoyed the chance to see what kind of tools the sculptors use: everything from chisel and hammer to power tools (including chainsaws) and clothes irons). The GeoKids particularly liked the rapidly emerging ice dragon and the carving of a bear on a log.

We look forward to checking next week’s local paper to see who was crowned the champion ice carver.

Also of interest to our GeoKids was the chance to visit the Biathlon Alberta Demonstration Trailer, where they lined up to test their aim with a lightweight air rifle. Judging by the ever-growing line, this activity is very popular with the kids.

Here‘s a complete schedule of Canmore Winter Carnival activities. And if you can’t make it in person, the Downtown Canmore Webcam offers a remote look at all the festivities.