Snow sculpture contest to return

The Fort Frances Museum has a new student placement as of this week, and one of her first initiatives is to bring back the snow sculpture contest first held here last February.
Samantha Manty, who is taking on the role of public programming during her three-month placement, said she is looking for ways to get people active.

“I am trying to get the community involved,” she noted yesterday.
“It’s the winter months and people don’t really like to go out a lot, but I am going to try and implement some activities that are going to get people a little more active, doing things.
“It can be a long winter if you don’t get involved, so hopefully we can get some things going that people are interested in,” added Manty, who is attending Dawson College in Montreal, where she’s in the final year of a three-year career program, Community, Recreation and Leadership Training.
The unique program teaches students how to plan events and organize activities at a community level.
First up on her agenda is to bring back the snow sculpture contest, which first was organized last year by the Rainy River Arts Collective, spearheaded by Lindsay Hamilton.
The event was met with moderate success, with a total of four entries.
“I guess [Lindsay] had done a lot of the footwork last year, and they tried to get it up and going,” Manty noted.
“The first year, though, planning an activity or an event, it can be quite difficult to get people involved.
“So this year, since a lot of the footwork is done, I am going to re-look at things and try and get it going again, get the community involved,” she remarked.
Manty added she’s in the process of consulting with Hamilton for advice on getting the snow sculpture contest going again.
“Last year, they had a fee. This year, we’re looking at people enter for free,” said Manty.
“We just want people to get out and enjoy the winter months a little bit,” she reasoned.
Manty said she’s hoping to see involvement from the community, whether it’s people making sculptures or coming out to see them once they’re done.
“It might be a little intimidating because not a lot of people have done snow sculptures,” she conceded.
“I know myself I haven’t, but I think it’s an interesting thing to try.
“And if you can do it for free, why not enjoy the opportunity?”
Manty said there will be a contest aspect to the project, but “mainly it’s just to get people involved and having fun.”
She will be contacting local businesses and schools to get involved, as well as ask the town for the same type of support it offered last year.
Manty said she will need support from the community to blow snow into the 8’x8’x8’ wooden boxes that will be set up at various locations around town.
She wants to have all the details worked out in the next couple weeks so teams can start sculpting snow by the end of the month.
For more information, or to help out or sign up to participate, contact Manty at 274-7891 or e-mail sgeorge@fort-frances.com
“Why no go out there and give it a try?” urged Manty.
Museum curator Sherry George said she’s glad to have Manty aboard.
“It is great. We’re very fortunate to have Samantha,” she enthused yesterday.
“Her field is community, recreation, and leadership,” added George. “And for me, being a one-person show here, there’s so many things that we could do but we can’t because there’s not enough time.
“To have Samantha here to lead a few of our projects, it’s just going to be a great help to me,” George said.