The Waltham Station Restaurant held their first annual snow sculpting competition this weekend. Owners Cobe Rabb and Kirk McGuire had planned the event to take place immediately after the first significant snowfall of the winter, and they took advantage of last week’s storm to turn their parking area into . . .

a fun activity.

Nine teams of sculptors took part in the activity, and McGuire estimated there were about 40 people involved. “There are only about 300 people in this entire town,” said McGuire on Saturday.

“That’s a significant percentage of the local people who are willing to come and participate in 2-day event. That’s impressive, but even more so because of how cold it is.” McGuire expressed his gratitude for the energy and fun that was shared by everyone. “Winter is hard anyway, but COVID has really made things hard for people, so we were looking for a chance to bring the community together, and this was a safe, and seasonally appropriate way to do it.”

How does one prepare to host an ice sculpting competition? This isn’t the type of thing people are usually equipped to do on a moment’s notice, but it helps if you have ingenuity and woodworking skills.

McGuire built a large plywood box, and his neighbours helped fill it with snow and pack it into a block that was nearly the size of a small car. They then repeated the process until they had ten blocks, and a beautifully clear parking lot.

McGuire’s wood skills were again put to use in creating trophies for the winners. “We invited the mayor to come and judge the completed works,” explained Rabb. The judging was set for Sunday, giving the sculptors two days to work. However, they weren’t expecting it to be quite so frosty. “It’s minus 34 today I think. Really really cold today,” Rabb stated, turning her back to the biting wind. Nevertheless, there was an impressive amount of work performed by the teams. “They did a lot today, even though it’s so cold you can’t be out for long.”

Entrants paid $10 to compete, and they were rewarded with ‘weasel nuts,’ a house favourite. Opening a box to reveal fresh homemade cinnamon sugar doughnuts, McGuire explained the etymology of the term: “One of our employees misread hazelnuts, and the name stuck,” he said.

Giving weaselnuts to customers wasn’t just a treat for snow sculptors: “it’s customer appreciation week,” said Rabb, “because we bought this place almost exactly 3 years ago — we want to let the community know how grateful we are, that we are able to run this business amongst such wonderful, supportive people.”

The winning sculpture was a man holding a fish with his dog.

Next year’s snow sculpture event is already being discussed. “I think we might be able to accommodate 16 people next year,” said McGuire.

Waltham Station Restaurant owners Cobe Rabb and Kirk McGuire stand in front of the couch made by The Giiirlzz Team.

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