Yellowknife’s own snow0-carving team of Niki McKenzie and Kris Schlagintweit, won the people’s choice award for their work at the Kiruna Winter Festival’s International Snow Sculpture Competition in Sweden.
After testing their design on home turf, Niki McKenzie and Kris Schlagintweit travelled to Kiruna on Jan. 21.
McKenzie called the experience “incredible.”
“The day of the voting, everyone who showed up between sort of a two hour time period was given a bidding slip to vote for their favorite sculpture,” she continued.
There were around 400 votes cast to select the winner out of the six teams participating, which included community talent and a duo from Barcelona, Spain who took home the top prize.
The pair’s winning design was based on the native New Zealand (McKenzie’s home country) legend, Waitiri, goddess of thunder.
“It’s a very odd but interesting way to connect with my family and my culture in a very different way,” she said.
The teams said interacting with locals during the three (and a half) day competition, which ran from Jan. 26 to 29, was a highlight of their experience.
“So [at] the carving site — I would call it the equivalent of the Yellowknife Frame Lake trail — everyday we probably had 100 to 200 people walking past, stopping to chat and see what we’re doing,” McKenzie said.
McKenzie and Schlagintweit say the road to the comptetition was a rollercoaster in and of itself.
“I was canoeing past Tony’s house, Tony the Snowking, in the summertime,” said McKenzie. “He shouted, called me over, and showed me that he had found this new snow-carving festival on Instagram.”
“He very strongly suggested that Kris and I apply for it based on our sculpture from the last year in our competition,” she continued. “I sort of handed over the administrative tasks to Kris and I forgot about it for about three weeks until she called me and said we were bloody in.”
The group added that they were also shocked due to level of detail that their snow carving resumes had versus their opponents.
“One sculpture from last year,” said Schlagintweit. “Other people’s resumes include prizes from around the world and participating in dozens of competitions. It’s quite amazing.”
Through everything, McKenzie and Schlagintweit wanted to extend many thanks to both the Yellowknife community and different sponsors that brought them to the snow carving festival.
“The Kiruna snow carving festival got us from Canada to Kiruna, which was incredible,” said McKenzie. “The City of Yellowknife gave us a great sponsorship as well, and the opportunity to do another snow carving when we get home, which is great.”
“The Snowking Winter Festival was a huge sponsorship,” she continued. “A great support for us getting organized getting there and teaching us the skills that we had to place.
“Then, lastly, I would like to say just thank you to the Yellowknife community because the support we’ve had from you guys (is) crazy.”
Schlagintweit also added that Yellowknife is going to be holding a residents-only snow carving competition.
“I encourage people to apply to join in,” she said. “It’s not very competitive, everybody’s happy to learn, and teach, and have fun together.”
As for future competitions, the duo says they plan to go for the gold in globe trotting.
“We will be applying around,” said Schlagintweit. “From Japan to the United States, and everywhere in between.”
