February in Fairbanks, Alaska is special, a fairy tale month. This is because magic happens. The Tanana Valley Fairgrounds at 1800 College Road is transformed into an icy fantasyland. It takes on an atmosphere of idyllic happiness. There are slides and games made from ice, sparkling in the light of the sun. A little further on you will enter the winter woods, a spectacular wonderland where the trees are tufted with several inches of glistening white.
Welcome to Ice Alaska, Home of the World Ice Art Championships. It is in this forest, this frozen elegance, that you will experience the fine art of ice sculpting, ice magic at its very best. The dates for 2024 are February 17th to March 31st. The gates open at noon and close at 10pm. Come during the day and watch the sun peak through the ice, casting warm golden paths on the snow below. Come at night for an entirely different, mesmerizing, spellbinding and hypnotic experience.
The multi block carving event also begins that day. The multi block teams are made up of four artists and nine blocks of ice. These teams have six days in which to turn their massive blocks into their ice masterpieces. More about that later.
