Bonhomme’s Ice Palace is days away from being ready
Cassandra Kerwin
From Feb. 7 to 16, visitors with Quebec Winter Carnival effigies can walk among the eight towers of Bonhomme’s Ice Palace and marvel at their height, with the tallest tower reaching 36 feet (nearly 11 metres). It took more than 17 days for snow and ice sculptor Marc Lepire and his team of 10 builders to complete the “Nordic sanctuary” using 2,800 ice blocks, each weighing 300 pounds and measuring 40 inches by 20 inches by 10.5 inches. Once completed, the Ice Palace will cover 5,800 square feet. Be sure to dress warmly when you visit it, because Bonhomme likes it cold, with ideal temperatures between -10 and -15.
“There aren’t many people who build ice walls,” said Lepire, who has been building a new Ice Palace for Bonhomme every year for 13 years. “The first year I did it, there were 22 of us, and this year there are 10. I had to adapt and find the right people to do it.
“After last year’s abnormally warm weather forced us to close the site early, we had to rethink the structure and the effects of the sun on the ice, even in February,” said Lepire. “This year, we thought of the palace differently – the corners of the towers, the strongest parts, are oriented toward the sun. We hope it will last throughout the Carnival if temperatures remain below -5 degrees.”
Quebec’s winter wildlife inspired Lepire and designer Jean-François Couture as they decorated the palace. Visitors will discover ice sculpted into moose, trees, owls, traditional snow boots, ceinture fléchée sashes and more. After sunset, everything is lit by colourful LED lights, bringing life to all the sculptures.
“It’s truly a representation of Bonhomme’s one and only great love: winter,” said Carnival director Marie-Ève Jacob. “Lepire and his team finished the exterior of the palace a few days ago and now they are working on the interior. Thanks to their skills in sculpting, visitors will discover eight unique towers. The first one represents the snowflake, because Bonhomme was born from a snowflake. At the end, we have a lookout, to see the site from a bird’s eye view. It will truly be another wonderful Carnival experience.”
Visitors must have a Carnival effigy to visit the Zone Loto-Québec. The effigy, available for $39 plus tax, is valid for entry to all the carnival sites from Feb. 7-16. For more information, visit carnaval.qc.ca.