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Snow sculpture of Ogopogo becomes a showstopper in Quesnel

Snowgopogo draws crowds

There has been another Ogopogo sighting in British Columbia.

The legendary lake monster can be seen, in of all places Quesnel B.C., roughly six and half hours north of Kelowna.

You'll find the 'Snowgopogo' on Vaughan St. in Quesnel and its creator Vanessa Hildreth tells Castanet she's been creating the sculpture for the past 10 years.

"I'm getting better, each year is a little bit better."

Hildreth says she has always been a fan of Okanagan Lake's Ogopogo. When she was 15 years old, she spotted an Ogopogo created out of plants at Disneyland and vowed to one day make her own version out of snow.

"I start at the tail and work my way towards the head."

But the real reason she started, was she won't smoke inside her home so instead of just standing there puffing she decided to get creative.

"I have to be outside, I have to be doing something, it's creative and the neighbours really seem to like it."

Especially during the global pandemic, "it seems like a time when people seem to need a feel-good kind of something.

Hildreth says it takes her about a week to finish the snow sculpture and she has added battery-powered eyes for an extra thrill.

"A couple of guys in the apartment building across the street are from Kelowna and they're always like 'yay', every time I see them."

The hard part comes when it starts to melt in the spring but until then Hildreth is happy to be spreading some cheer.

"Every time I look out the window there's a steady stream of people on the street taking pictures."



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