Sixth Annual Collegiate Ice Carving Invitational Nov. 12
Students from HFC, the University of Michigan (U-M), Oakland Community College (OCC), Macomb Community College (MCC), the Arts Institute of Michigan–Novi and the Culinary Institute of Michigan–Port Huron will compete at the Sixth Annual Henry Ford College Collegiate Ice Carving Invitational on Saturday, Nov. 12, from 9 a.m. to noon, in Parking Lot 2 on the main campus.
Students will compete for various prizes and the Chef Richard Teeple Golden Chainsaw Trophy, named after the retired HFC culinary instructor. They have three hours to carve a 300-pound block of ice into a work of art. Each ice carver will have to execute a custom design of their own choosing. They will be judged on creativity, design, symmetry and technique. Ice carvings will be available for viewing until 3 p.m. that same day, weather permitting.
For many of these colleges, the HFC Ice Carving Invitational is the opening event for a competitive season that runs from December to the end of February. The carvers will travel throughout Michigan and the Midwest to compete in the growing art of ice carving. The season reaches its high point the last weekend of January when the students compete at the National Collegiate Championships at Zehnder’s Snow Fest in historic Frankenmuth, Mich.
“Life-time rivalries in ice carving are built on competitions like HFC’s yearly invitational. These Michigan ice carvers will be competing against each other throughout the season and it all begins at the HFC Invitational. We compete against each other and when the clock runs out, we’ll all eat lunch together and begin planning for the next ice carving contest,” said HFC Ice Carving Club President Mark Tampakes.
“The HFC Invitational is the first taste of competition for many new carvers,” said former HFC Ice Carving Club President and veteran collegiate ice carver, Robert Speeks. “To new college ice carvers, the HFC Invitational is not only their introduction to ice carving competition, but a chance to make new, lifelong ice carving friends,” Speeks added.
This event is free and open to the public. For further information, contact HFC Ice Carving Club Advisor Jeffrey Lao at 313-845-6391 or Jjlao1@hfcc.edu.Visit www.HFCCice.com.