Visitors are encouraged to come out to Vulcan Snow Park to watch sculptors at work during the first weekend. Finished sculptures are lit after dark and remain on display for the duration of Vulcan Snow Park—or until they collapse. (Sculptures are knocked down if they’re growing dangerously unstable, or may collapse on their own, so plan to visit them early!)

Sculptures on Display

  • ​Exhibition sculpture – A team of professional snow artists create a giant sculpture in the weeks leading up to Vulcan Snow Park. Work may continue during the opening weekend. Whatever the subject matter, the resulting sculpture is always enormous and spectacular.
  • Minnesota State Snow Sculpting Competition entries – Starting from an 8' x 8' x 8' block of compacted snow, each sculpture is created over the opening weekend by a three-person team using only hand tools.
  • Small-Block Snow Sculpting Contest entries – These smaller sculptures start from 4' x 4' x 6' blocks of compacted snow and are created in just eight hours on the first Saturday by up to three team members using only hand tools.
  • Other sculptures – You may also see other sculptures around Vulcan Snow Park, such as those created by students from the Metro Deaf School.
Fun fact: One cubic foot (a square block that measures 1' x 1' x 1') of compacted snow weighs 15-20 pounds. The initial 8' x 8' x 8' block equals 512 cubic feet and weighs between 7,680 and 10,240 pounds. That’s 4-5 tons! The finished sculptures weigh less than that because a lot of the initial snow is removed, but they still generally weigh well over a ton.

Schedule

These times may change. Stay tuned!

Friday, January 26, 2024
  • 8 am to 9 pm – State Competition sculptures get started
Saturday, January 27, 2024
  • 8 am to 9 pm – State Competition sculptures progress
  • 8 am to 4 pm – Small-Block Contest sculptures created (start to finish)
  • 4:30 pm – Small-Block Contest winners announced
  • 4:30 pm to 9 pm – Small-Block Contest finished sculptures on display
Sunday, January 28, 2024
  • 8 am to 9 pm – Small-Block ​Contest finished sculptures on display
  • 8 am to 9 pm – State Competition sculptures progress
  • 10 am to 12:30 pm – State Competition People’s Choice Award voting (vote for your favorite competition sculpture!)
  • 12 pm to 9 pm – State Competition finished sculptures on display
  • 1 pm – State Competition winners announced
Monday, January 29 – Sunday, February 4, 2024
  • 9 am to 9 pm – Finished sculptures on display (or until they collapse)

Cost

​Free

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