During the weekend of Feb. 18–21, Hamilton students formed teams of four to compete in the FebFest Snow Sculpture Competition. Participants could build the snow sculptures anywhere except for on walking paths or in parking lots. FebFest leaders will select a winner in each of three categories: most FebFest-y sculpture, most Hamiltonian sculpture, and most Artistic sculpture. Student Activities gave everyone sculpting supplies, including snow stamps and a pail and shovel set. However, the most successful teams relied on resources outside of those provided, like cooking pots, utensils, and buckets. Hanna Cillo ’24, Summer McClintic ’24, Kate Carman ’24, and I took on the challenge, while Rachel Saxon ’24, an honorary member of our team, saw the process from her residence hall window.
After we picked up the pail and shovel set, we claimed the powdery snow behind Keehn Residence Hall and got to work. We soon realized that we needed more than the set provided by Student Activities to help us recreate Opus, the groovy coffee shop on the Dark Side. Given that we wanted to build the classic comfy chairs and round wooden tables of Opus, we began the hunt for larger bins. Hanna and Summer dumped everything out of their dorm recycling bins and carried them outside. From there, we packed snow into a bin, careful to avoid ice and anything yellow, turned it upside down, and watched our creation slide onto the ground. We did this approximately thirty times to create a chair as oversized and cushioned as a real Opus one. However, our table was basically a freezer, so we advised visitors not to rest their cookies there for too long.
About halfway through the competition, our gloved hands no longer functioned; we needed a bigger shovel. We spotted one taller than any of us next to a mop through the window of Root Residence Hall, which I ended up borrowing for our project. Kate had primary use of the shovel, dragging the top layer of powdery snow to our bins.
After two hours of hard and treacherous work, we completed our sculpture. The last step was to create a snow cookie and coffee, finally putting our Student Activities pail and shovel to use. We returned the big shovel, took a few self-timer pictures, and walked back before the frostbite hit. If you look closely at the chair, you will see a pattern made out of snow stamps, an addition the judges should definitely consider. We expect ‘Snopus’ to last until the end of winter; even the spring flowers will know not to crowd our creation. However, I am saving some snow in the freezer just in case Snopus needs a touch-up from time to time.
