Wheaton celebrates cold with Ice (Cubed) Fest
Spinouts, frozen door locks, bruise-inducing spills: it's no wonder ice has a spotty reputation.
But when Jim Bringas considers chunks of the frosty stuff, he sees a more optimistic potential under its slippery sheen: animals, cool designs, even whole scenes.
The ice-carving artist will bring about 20 of his recent creations to downtown Wheaton Saturday, Jan. 30, for the city's second annual Ice (Cubed) Fest.
"We'll have a nutcracker, bull dogs, an airplane, the Eiffel Tower, a boy on a sled," said Bringas, owner of the Willowbrook-based Chicago Ice Works.
Bringas said he also does sculptures depicting sponsors' businesses, such as a pizzeria pizza man, a comb and shears for a hair salon or a set of teeth with braces for an orthodontics practice.
Bringas will give two live sculpture demonstrations during the festival. He'll be working at the Martin Memorial Plaza near the corner of Front and Main streets beginning at 1 p.m.
"This is kind of a reason to come out in the cold and see something neat," said Cara Bove, events assistant for the Downtown Wheaton Association. "In the winter months there's not a lot of events going on outside. We're always willing to bring new events in."
Bove said sculptures will be displayed on downtown sidewalks for as long as they last.
"They'll last for weeks as long as it's below 32 and not too sunny," Bringas said.
Bringas said he got into ice carving when it was part of the curriculum in culinary school. He discovered he had a natural aptitude for finding the shapes hidden within giant ice cubes.
"I stopped working as a chef and started doing this," he said.
That was 25 years ago.
Now he and his staff supply ice carvings for weddings, baptisms, showers, golf outings, charity benefits and corporate events at hotels, country clubs and banquet halls throughout the area all year long.
Each raw ice block weighs about 425 pounds. A finished sculpture weighs about 325 pounds, he said.
Bringas said ice tongs and hooks are used to maneuver the sculptures on and off the truck and into place.
He said he wears insulated gloves and full winter gear while he plies his craft.
"I get cold, even indoors, carving at the shop. It's probably 55 degrees in the shop. We're in long johns and turtlenecks all year," he said.
Bringas said he often uses a template to mark the ice with his intended design. Sometimes, he said, he uses a hand-drawn guide.
"That gives me a basic shape or cutout," he said. "Then I'll start adding the third dimension."
When he creates a carving in public, as he will Saturday, he tries to answer spectator questions before and after the 90 minutes to two hours it takes to complete his artwork.
"It's kind of tough to talk at the same time," he said, due to the raucous buzz of chain saws and hand-held power tools.
Bove said Bringas and his crew will deliver the sculptures early Saturday morning so the show is in place for the festival. Downtown merchants and restaurants will offer specials throughout the day, she said.
"It's just very casual, family friendly," Bove said. "We encourage people to take selfies."
If you go
What: Second annual Ice (Cubed) Fest
Who: Presented by Downtown Wheaton Association
When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30
Where: Downtown Wheaton
Cost: Free
Info: www.downtownwheaton.com