WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) -- Mystery and magic will form before your eyes this weekend on the lawn of the Woodson Art Museum.
It's the 24th annual Snow Sculpture Event with the Team USA Snow Sculptors. The team will be turning a massive block of snow an iconic piece of magical history: a rabbit coming out of a hat complete with a magic wand.
Marketing director Amy Beck says this isn't like building a snowman. "It will be kind of fresh snow, packed in, it has to be tamped down solid into a block before they start really carving the snow is what they do." That snow is trucked in from across the Wausau area from places that dirt and salt and sand aren't tracked in, like parking lots and the airport. It's then packed into a massive concrete mold to harden up.
The sculpting starts today, and Beck says it really is a spectator event. "They just are fascinating to watch working together, and they love chatting with people who happen by and want to see how they work. So we hope people will stop by on Friday and Saturday and see it emerge." Once the exhibit is carved, it will be lit up at night with colored lamps to give it a special magical look after dark.
Of course it is a block of snow, and eventually it too will melt. Beck says that's part of the fun of the artwork. "It only lasts as long as Mother Nature allows, whether it's ice carving, snow sculpting, sand."
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