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The Snowking Winter Festival is an annual festival held each March in
The first Snowking castle was built in 1996.There's a massive castle made of snow in Canada - complete with ice slide
/ref> From humble beginnings in Yellowknife's Woodyard neighbourhood, where the castle was little more than tunnels in snowbanks augmented by blocks of snow cut from wind-formed snow drifts, the Snowking's Winter Festival has grown into a month-long event based around a large castle built of snow. In the early years, Snowking and Sir Shiverin' Sam built forts of snow with their children near their homes on the shore of Yellowknife Bay. Over the years, the "castle" grew, and at some point moved out onto the ice of the bay. Each year the structure became larger and more elaborate. Crew members came and went over the years, but the Snowking remained dedicated to his kingdom. Funding was secured so that the castle could continue to operate and to grow each year. In 2009, the
Snowking Winter Festival
{{coord, 62, 27, 21, N, 114, 21, 09, W, type:landmark_region:CA-NT, display=title Winter festivals in Canada Festivals in Yellowknife Buildings and structures made of snow or ice Recurring events established in 1996 1996 establishments in Canada
The Snowking Winter Festival is an annual festival held each March in Yellowknife
Yellowknife (; Dogrib: ) is the capital, largest community, and only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the ...
, Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
, Canada since 1996.
The festival is held in a snow castle, built from snow with window panes and other features made of ice. Each winter the castle is built on Yellowknife Bay
Yellowknife (; Dogrib language, Dogrib: ) is the capital, largest community, and only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknif ...
, on Great Slave Lake
Great Slave Lake (french: Grand lac des Esclaves), known traditionally as Tıdeè in Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì (Dogrib), Tinde’e in Wıìlıìdeh Yatii / Tetsǫ́t’ıné Yatıé (Dogrib / Chipewyan), Tu Nedhé in Dëne Sųłıné Yatıé (Chi ...
. The castle is designed and the construction is supervised by Snowking, Anthony Foliot. The design evolves every year and the castle has grown to include an auditorium, cafe, courtyard, slide, parapets and turrets.
Once it is completed, the snow castle becomes a hub for winter arts activity in Yellowknife. The month-long festival includes concerts, art shows, children's theatre, and more. Carvers augment the castle with snow and ice sculptures.
History
The first Snowking castle was built in 1996./ref> From humble beginnings in Yellowknife's Woodyard neighbourhood, where the castle was little more than tunnels in snowbanks augmented by blocks of snow cut from wind-formed snow drifts, the Snowking's Winter Festival has grown into a month-long event based around a large castle built of snow. In the early years, Snowking and Sir Shiverin' Sam built forts of snow with their children near their homes on the shore of Yellowknife Bay. Over the years, the "castle" grew, and at some point moved out onto the ice of the bay. Each year the structure became larger and more elaborate. Crew members came and went over the years, but the Snowking remained dedicated to his kingdom. Funding was secured so that the castle could continue to operate and to grow each year. In 2009, the
Government of Canada
The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
provided $16,900 of funding for the 2009 festival via the ''Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage Program'' of the Department of Canadian Heritage
The Department of Canadian Heritage, or simply Canadian Heritage (french: Patrimoine canadien), is the department of the Government of Canada that has roles and responsibilities related to initiatives that promote and support "Canadian identity ...
. In 2004, Foliot received $5,000 from the Northwest Territories Business Development Fund for the operation of the festival.
The Festival
Throughout the month of March, the castle hosts a film night, children's plays on the weekends, and live music most Friday and Saturday nights. It also host puppet shows and hockey games.See also
*Winter festival
A winter festival, winter carnival, snow festival, or frost fair is an outdoor cold weather celebration that occurs in wintertime.
Winter festivals are popular in D climates (see Köppen climate classification) where winter is particularly long ...
References
External links
Snowking Winter Festival
{{coord, 62, 27, 21, N, 114, 21, 09, W, type:landmark_region:CA-NT, display=title Winter festivals in Canada Festivals in Yellowknife Buildings and structures made of snow or ice Recurring events established in 1996 1996 establishments in Canada