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Canadian women take top honors in World Snow…

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Canadian women take top honors in World Snow Sculpting Championship in Stillwater

The sculptures will remain up for viewing in Lowell Park as long as weather permits

  • Three people work on a snow sculpture with spikes and horns.

    From left, Joelle Gagnon, Marie-Claude-Paris-Tanguay and Marie Fanny-Fay Tremblay-Girard, of the Canadian team FjordWitches, work on their sea monster sculpture at Stillwater’s Lowell Park on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024. Their sculpture won first place in this year’s World Snow Sculpting Championship. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

  • Three women pose in front of a horned snow sculpture.

    Team Fjordwitches, from left, Joelle Gagnon, Marie-Claude Paris-Tanguaya and team captain Fanny Fay Trembley-Girard, won $4,000 on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, for their sculpture entitled “FJCOWRD, la vachoune de mer, a milky sea monster.” (Courtesy of Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce)

  • A man and a snow sculpture strike similar chest-out poses.

    Ville Arkonkoski, from the Finnish team Funland, asks his teammates if he’s got the pose right as they continue work on their snow sculpture in Stillwater’s Lowell Park on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024. Three-member snow-sculpting teams from around the world are competing for $8,000 in prize money and the title of “World Champions,” at the World Snow Sculpting Championship, which runs through Sunday in Stillwater. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

  • Two people in matching blue coats work on a snow sculpture.

    Dan Belcher, left, and Bruce Peck, of the Florida team Flozen, work on details on their snow sculpture “Unmasked” in Stillwater’s Lowell Park on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024. Three-member snow-sculpting teams from around the world are competing for $8,000 in prize money and the title of “World Champions,” at the World Snow Sculpting Championship, which runs through Sunday in Stillwater. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

  • Two people work on a sculpture with arches.

    Xavier Gonzalez, left, and Carlos Pozo, of Team Family from Ecuador, continue work on their snow sculpture in Stillwater’s Lowell Park on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024. Three-member snow-sculpting teams from around the world are competing for $8,000 in prize money and the title of “World Champions,” at the World Snow Sculpting Championship, which runs through Sunday in Stillwater. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

  • The Team Fjordwitches snow sculpture entitled “FJCOWRD, la vachoune de...

    The Team Fjordwitches snow sculpture entitled “FJCOWRD, la vachoune de mer, a milky sea monster.” (Courtesy of Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce)

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Mary Divine
By | mdivine@pioneerpress.com | Pioneer Press
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:

A sculpture of a milky sea monster described as a “unique algivorous cow from the abyss of the Saguenay fjord” won first place in this year’s World Snow Sculpting Championship, which was held Wednesday through Saturday in Lowell Park in downtown Stillwater.

A team of three women from Quebec called the FjordWitches – Fanny-Fay Tremblay-Girard, Joelle Gagnon and Marie-Claude-Paris-Tanguay – won the $4,000 prize.

Three women pose in front of a horned snow sculpture.
Team Fjordwitches, from left, Joelle Gagnon, Marie-Claude Paris-Tanguaya and team captain Fanny Fay Trembley-Girard, won $4,000 on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, for their sculpture entitled “FJCOWRD, la vachoune de mer, a milky sea monster.” (Courtesy of Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce)

They beat out 11 other teams to take home top honors with “FJCOWRD, la vachoune de mer,” a sculpture of a milky sea monster whose “salty fresh cream is the secret ingredient for making the best poetic aurora borealis tasted cheese in North America,” according to the team’s description posted on the event’s website.

Sculptors had 64 hours to carve their pieces out of 10-by-10-by-10-foot blocks. Spectators were allowed to watch the entire process, visit with the teams and vote for their favorite. The sculpture with the most spectator votes — Pok-Ta-Pok: The Ball Game from Team Colima from Mexico — won “The People’s Choice Award” and $1,000.

The second-place winner was Team Izmit from Turkey, and the third-place winner was Team North Dakota. They won $2,000 and $1,000, respectively.

The sculptures will remain up for viewing in Lowell Park as long as weather permits and as long as it is confirmed safe by city officials in Stillwater, said Robin Anthony, executive director of the Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce.

Viewing is accessible during park hours, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Night viewing will be accompanied by lights through Sunday, she said.

For more information, go to worldsnowsculptingstillwatermn.com.

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