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Night owls illuminate Gore Creek Promenade in Vail

The 18th annual Vail Winterfest – Night Owls ice sculptures will be on display until mid-February

As the sun sets, the lights of the ice sculptures come to life Friday during the kickoff to the Vail Winterfest in Vail. It's the 18th year the sculptures have been at the Gore Creek Promenade in Vail. This year's theme is night owls.
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily

At the 18th annual Vail Winterfest, you can see how nearly 25,000 pounds of ice has been shaped into art. You’ll find several larger-than-life ice sculptures situated along Gore Creek in Vail Village.

This year’s theme is owls. The ice structures are impressive during the day, but at night they take on a whole different look with LED lighting illuminating the sculptures from within.

“Past Winterfest installations have focused on nighttime themes be it celestial, illuminated lanterns or an outdoor cinema, so this year we gravitated towards this intriguing nocturnal creature,” said Molly Eppard of the town of Vail’s Art in Public Places who puts in the event each year. “This season we are excited to introduce a soundscape of various owl calls which will be played on speakers located throughout the venue.”  



Kids pose in front of one of the ice sculptures with owl masks on at the 18th annual Vail Winterfest on Friday in Vail. This year’s theme is Night Owls.
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily

Alpine Ice created the art once again. A team of two, Paul Wertin and Jake Proffit, spent weeks drafting drawings and building as many of the sculptures as they could in their studio.

“We start creating pieces in the studio and in our freezer. It’s sort of like Legos and we make our Legos there and then we put the Legos together at the site,” Wertin said. “So, we do as much as we can in advance of coming out to Gore Creek. The structures will be up until mid-February.”

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Fun facts about owls
  • There are 13 owl species found in Colorado, including the great horned owl, spotted owl, boreal owl, western screech-owl and eastern screech-owl
  • The northern hawk owl can detect — primarily by sight — a vole to eat up to a half a mile away
  • Owls are good hunters because of stealth, not speed and their wings are designed to not make a rustling or flapping sound
  • Owls can rotate their necks 270 degrees
  • Barn owls swallow their prey whole — skin, bones and all — and they eat up to 1,000 mice each year

Source: Audubon.org/News/13-Fun-Facts-About-Owls

Wertin and Proffit have been stacking the ice blocks and working on the sculptures on-site since Jan. 2 and revealed the artwork to the public on Jan. 10. Wertin said around 80-85 blocks of ice were used and each block weighs 300 pounds. Wertin added that Alpine Ice usually focuses on projects for corporate groups and events that are more advertising-based and says he really enjoys doing the ice sculptures for Vail Winterfest each year.

“This is one project where we really get to be creative and have fun with it. It’s a lot of work and it’s heavy and it’s all of that, but it’s very satisfying just to be able to have something that’s pure art, art for art’s sake,” Wertin said. “It’s also fun to be working down here these last few days and be able to talk to people who are curious about what we are creating and having that connection with your audience.”

Hot drinks and sweet treats were provided by Two Arrows and Mountain Standard during the Vail Winterfest kickoff event held Friday in Vail.
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily

The owls join a long list of themes that have been used at Vail Winterfest throughout the years, including polar bears, large faces, seashells, abstract images and more.

“We’re also excited to complement the Winterfest installation with the free and family-friendly educational and artistic programs focused on owls,” Eppard said. Art workshops and educational opportunities include:  

  • Jan. 24 – Meet the Raptors at the Colorado Snowsports Museum, 1-4 p.m.
  • Jan. 30 – Alpine Arts Center’s snowy owl pine cone craft workshop at the Colorado Snowsports Museum, 4:30-6 p.m.
  • Jan. 31 – Meet the Raptors at the Vail Public Library Community Room, 3-6 p.m.  

Visit ArtInVail.com to learn more about these programs. 


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