Christy Gamache: February 2006

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Winter Fest Ishikari...

Yep..another festival! Enjoy the pictures...

For two nights last week I helped some of my co-workers from city hall build this snow sculpture. Actually, "helped" is rather loosely used, since Kae and I (the only two girls) did more supervision and moral support than "help"! Here are the beginning stages of our sculpture ("Shee-saw"...an Okinawa character).

Dzuma and Kae working away...

And it's almost finished!

Me and Kae supervising from our snow cave!

And taking a little break to enjoy the tubing run...It was awesome!!

One of the other sculptures in the contest...

Me pretending to be the "Salmon Rider", Ishikari's very own action figure!

And dressed up in the Ishikari salmon costume once again!

Kae holding our favourite festival snack...chocolate covered bananas. These ones were in cool tree shapes.

A classic Ishikari event. Three teams race, pulling a big net full of salmon across a snow field, and up and over a hill.

And of course, what is an Ishikari event without the Yosakoi dancers doing the Ishikari Sake (Salmon) Samba...

Sapporo Snow Fest - Satoland

After spending Saturday at the Odori section of the snow festival, we decided we had to see the Satoland section. So, on Sunday we headed to East Sapporo and took in the festivities despite the frigid winds. I'm ever impressed at all the Japanese people who come out for numerous festivals despite the crazy weather conditions.

Posing with the giant snowman. The picture doesn't show it, but there were about 20 other giant snowmen as well! Notice the 2-piece body. When I mention that in Canada we build 3-piece snowmen, everyone's mouths drop open! 3-piece snowman...what a crazy idea!

The 100-meter ice-slide, along with a miniature one for kids...

Me, attempting to look like one of the snowmen...

The Ice Bar!

And Lori...

That was about all our cold bodies could handle. We skipped out on the other events such as igloo building, snow golf, and hot air ballooning! Sad...I'll probably never again have a chance to play snow golf! Apparently I'm not quite as warm blooded as the Hokkaidoites yet.

Saturday, February 18, 2006

Sapporo Snow Fest 2006!

After two months of snow accumulating on the ground, I was beginning to get a little tired of the stuff...no more warm fuzzy feelings when I saw it starting to fall outside my window. So, it was high time for some serious snow appreciation events. The Sapporo Snow Festival was the first to kick off my snow festival tour. For one full week, Sapporo residents and people from all over the world showcase amazing snow and ice sculptures...big and small...in three different locations- Odori Park ( a big park that runs down 12 blocks of the city), Satoland (a family oriented park in Eastern Sapporo) and Susukino (the entertainment district). Many of the large sculptures have stages in front of them and there is entertainment day and night. It was incredible, and definitely succeeded in increasing my appreciation for snow!
Five of my friends came down to Sapporo for the weekend to join me in taking in the snow festival. Here's some pictures to show you some of the highlights of our day.

Me and Lori at the subway station...getting ready for the 57th Sapporo Snow Festival!

Enjoying a little Italian food before braving the cold weather in Odori Park.

Dave, Jenn and Julie in front of the "Narnia" stage. You can only see about half of it here. In real life it was huge, and absolutely amazing.

The "Okinawa" stage, with taiko drummers performing.

And taking a little break in our day to go to the chocolate factory. What's a day in Sapporo without the chocolate factory? Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, the buffet was already finished for the day. So, we had to settle for the three piece plate.