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As the Vernon Winter Carnival gets ready to celebrate 60 years, it will bring the past into the present.
A long-standing tradition will be brought back to carnival this year when Vernon’s Civic Plaza plays host to the ice palace and ice sculptures.
The first Carnival Ice Palace debuted on Barnard Avenue (now 30th Avenue) during the carnival’s inaugural year, 1961.
The following year, the palace moved to Polson Park, where it proved once again to be a major attraction for visitors. The palace provided a sparkling venue for the coronation of that year’s royalty, Queen Diane Davidson Beaumont and Princesses Karen Reimer and Sonja Soichuk.
Huge blocks of ice were tinted in shades of blue and green, and framed by two massive ice columns. The heights of the columns, with its lights and pennants, reached 40 feet.
Visitors were invited to fill the seats of Polson Park’s grandstand to view the coronation, while a concession provided hot coffee to warm up cold hands.
In 1966, the palace was built for the first time in the then-new Civic Plaza.
The first ice sculpture contest was held in 1969, and was also a huge success. Students of all ages, under the direction of art teachers from local junior and secondary schools, were provided with a block of ice, chisels, and mallets and allowed to let their imaginations run wild.
One adult contestant even sculpted a life-like ice pig.
In 1974, the Inland Natural Gas Company upped the ante by offering prize money for the best sculptures, while all participants received a celebratory scoop of NOCA’s blue and white Carnival Ice Cream.
However, the popular tradition has not always been easy to realize.
On Jan. 26 1977, the Vernon News reported a pipe had leaked and filled the local Inland Ice Man plant with ammonia.
Engineer Gus Joachim was overcome by fumes and sent to the Vernon Jubilee Hospital to recover. It was reported the vapours could be smelled as far away as half a mile into the city’s downtown core. This incident not only caused employees to be sick and out of work for several days, but also put a halt to carnival’s ice sculpturing event.
The plant’s manager, John Jones, had managed to produce enough ice for the palace, but not enough for the sculptures.
Warm winters during the ‘70s and ‘80s also meant that ice blocks could not be cut from natural sources like Swan Lake, since the ice was not hard enough to carve.
But there are plans to bring the ice back for the 60th carnival.
The Vernon Museum is celebrating the revival of this tradition by offering free hot chocolate on Friday, Feb. 14 and Saturday Feb. 15, to any visitors taking in the icy creations during the last few days of carnival.
