SPICER — Thanks to a fresh blanket of several inches of snow, the stage was set for a seasonable start to the 2022 Spicer Winterfest celebration over the weekend. Events will take place over the next few weeks including pond hockey, the Polar Plunge, sledding, a fishing tournament, concerts and fireworks.
1/6: Like any good build, ice castle construction begins with a solid foundation. Volunteers put in place the first blocks of the 2022 Spicer Winterfest ice castle on Jan. 15, 2022.
2/6: Heavy equipment was used to not only bring up ice blocks from Green Lake on Jan. 15, 2022, but a crane helped lift the heavy blocks into place on the Spicer Winterfest ice castle.
3/6: It takes muscle to move the large ice blocks into place for the 2022 Spicer Winterfest ice castle on Jan. 15, 2022.
4/6: You can't get more local building materials than cutting the ice for the Spicer Winterfest ice castle directly from Green Lake. Crews cut the ice and send it sliding toward a pile of icy masonry ready for the castle on Jan. 15, 2022.
5/6: After only a few hours of chilly construction, the ice castle central pillar is already several ice blocks high. A crane was used to help lift the blocks into place while construction volunteers sawed and cut the blocks to fit on Jan. 15, 2022.
6/6: Building an ice castle comes with its own set of challenges, including having to balance safely on rather slippery building materials. Construction volunteers climb onto the castle to make sure the next blocks fit snugly on Jan. 15, 2022.
Ice blocks were carved out of the frozen surface of Green Lake on Saturday and brought up to the shore using heavy machinery as volunteers began the heavy and cold job of building this year's ice castle. By mid-afternoon on Saturday, the castle was already starting to take shape. The ice castle was scheduled to be completed by the end of the day Sunday.
1/5: Central Minnesota Pond Racing brought a full day of snowmobile races to Green Lake in Spicer on Jan. 15, 2022, as part of Spicer's Winterfest celebrations.
2/5: There weren't any leisurely snowmobile rides around the Green Lake track on Saturday. Racers pushed their machines as they whipped around the track as park of the Central Minnesota Pond Racing snowmobile races on Jan. 15, 2022.
3/5: A snowmobile racer takes the checkered flag and wins one of the many Central Minnesota Pond Racing snowmobile races that took place on Green Lake in Spicer on Jan. 15, 2022.
4/5: The front runner in a snowmobile race on Green Lake blows snow back at those chasing for the lead. Central Minnesota Pond Racing brought its snowmobile races to Green Lake in Spicer on Jan. 15, 2022, as part of Spicer Winterfest.
5/5: Pickups with snowplowing blades groom the snowmobile racetrack on Green Lake on Jan. 15, 2022.
As castle construction went on, the sound of engines came in from the surface of the frozen Green Lake. Using a racetrack plowed out of the lake surface, the Central Minnesota Pond Racing snowmobile races began at 11 a.m. Saturday. Dozens of races took place, with snowmobilers whipping their rides around the course.
Shelby Lindrud is a reporter with the West Central Tribune of Willmar. Her focus areas are arts and entertainment, agriculture, features writing and the Kandiyohi County Board.
She can be reached via email
slindrud@wctrib.com or direct
320-214-4373.
