Friday, December 23rd (continued)
The initial part of the ICE! attraction focused solely on the theme of this year's event, A Charlie Brown Christmas. Every character was represented at least once throughout the exhibit, and several favourite scenes were so realistically recreated that you almost expected Charlie Brown or Linus to start speaking as guests stopped to admire each sculpture.
The sculptures were so incredible, I would have loved to linger at each a little longer than we actually did, but I can't stress enough that its COLD in ICE!
Crazy, bitter cold....even for us northerners. Had we taken all the time we would have LIKED to take, we would have been human popsicles by the time we exited.
My camera, as I expected, took a bit of time to adjust from the warmth of the resort's interior to the sharp chill inside ICE!, but eventually I was able to capture some photos without my lens fogging over. The sharp contrast in temperature is definitely tough on the electronics
.
Part way through the exhibit, we came upon the infamous "ice slides": a highlight of ICE! for many young visitors.
Made entirely from clear frozen ice blocks, guests were welcome to take a slide down one of the four seperate runs: no sleds or carpets, just straight down on your bottom using the long coat as protection from the elements. Steve and I both decided we were already cold enough, thank you very much
. but we did enjoy watching some of the little ones scoot down with expressions of sheer joy on their faces. I can only imagine how special of an opportunity this would be for southern families who rarely see real snow or ice.
Steve wanted to get his picture with the little red haired girl
, and I was happy to oblige:
Past the ice slides, we moved on to more Charlie Brown themed sculptures, including the famous tree scene:
My favourite of them all, though, was easily Linus' monologue about the true meaning of Christmas. The audio played on a monitor to the side, reciting the famous lines:
"Sure Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about. Lights please?
And there were in the same country shepherds, abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them! And they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, “Fear not! For, behold, I bring you tidings o great joy, which shall be to all my people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ, the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the Heavenly Host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth peace, and good will toward men.
That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown".
As the Charlie Brown Christmas scenes concluded, we moved into the next area of the exhibit which featured one of the Chinese sculptors performing a live demonstration on their amazing art form. He is one of the dozens of ice artists from Harbin, China who make the trip to America each year to share their talents with thousands of US guests. He was completely oblivious to our presence as he focused intently on his current project.
Also in that immediate area were several Santa's Workshop-themed sculptures which depicted various traditional Christmas scenes.
The colours were so bright and vibrant, despite the low light of the exhibit. The detail on each display was incredible.
As incredible as the other scenes were, though, my favourite of the entire attraction were all located in the final room: this area featured a full representation of the biblical Christmas story all carefully sculpted from crystal clear ice.
This area featured a full nativity complete with Mary and Joseph nestling their newborn son into a tiny manger amidst the barnyard animals who called the stable home. The Wise Men stood stoically nearby, each carrying their individual gifts to the newborn king. Against a black backdrop and white lights, it was breathtakingly beautiful and unbelievably serene.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Much as we hated to arrive at the end of the exhibit, we welcomed the blast of warmth that hit our faces as the door opened to the convention center area. Tissues were skillfully placed just outside the door for the inevitable onset of nose drippings which are experienced post-ICE! by most visitors.
We returned our coats to the parka drop-off bins and headed back out into the main concourse. We still had much more to explore while here at Gaylord Palms!