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22nd Annual Ice Carving Competition  

The start of the New Year means it’s time once again for a real linchpin of the Wentworth Inn calendar—and one of Jackson, New Hampshire’s standout seasonal celebrations.

We can only be talking about the 22nd Annual Great Ice Carvers Invitational Ice Carving Competition, which we proudly host right here on our wonderfully wintry lawn. The icy artistry gets underway at 10 AM on January 9th, 2017—and you’re going to want some front-row seats, take it from us!

The Great Ice Carvers Invitational Ice Carving Competition: Three Hours, Three Hundred Pounds

Here are the Great Ice Carvers Invitational Ice Carving Competition basics: A dozen participating sculptors have three hours to make their masterpieces from the raw potential of a 300-pound hulk of ice, and they can use any tools they please to make it happen—from hammer and chisel to chainsaw. The ice dust flies as sculptures of every description—human beings, animals, abstract figures—take shape through the creative vision and adept craftsmanship of the competitors, who hail from all over and who often return again and again for this Wentworth Inn tradition.

Masterpiece Matchup

Once the three hours are up, the artists enjoy a very well-earned buffet Wentworth lunch before the awards ceremony. The prizes are pretty fantastic, if we do say so ourselves: $500 for First Prize, $250 for Second Prize, and an overnight stay at the Wentworth for two (plus other perks) for Third Prize. Naturally, though, the deepest reward for these talented sculptors is the thrill of competition and the opportunity to show off their unique facility with the frozen medium to Wentworth guests and daytrippers alike.

Take in the Wentworth’s Ice Sculpture Garden

Even if you can’t make it for the Great Ice Carvers Invitational Ice Carving Competition itself, you can still enjoy the creations rendered that day after the fact: We’ll be displaying the glazed glories out front for as long as they can withstand Mother Nature’s fickle temperatures.

Celebrate your first stay in 2017 at the Wentworth Inn by attending the 22nd Annual Great Ice Carvers Invitational Ice Carving Competition—or simply admiring the products of its fierce-but-friendly, frigid-but-fun proceedings out on the Wentworth’s white lawn! And from all of us here at the Inn, a very happy New Year to you and your family.