Winter Arts Snow Sculpting Competition Rescheduled to February 15-18 

FEB. 1, 2024

Due to continued unseasonably warm weather, the 2024 Winter Arts Snow Sculpting Festival, hosted by the City of Dubuque Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs and the Dubuque Museum of Art, has been postponed to February 15-18, 2024, at Washington Park in downtown Dubuque. 

Professional and amateur teams from across Iowa and the Greater Dubuque region are expected to participate. Teams of only Iowa residents may elect to compete for the State of Iowa championship with the winner receiving an invitation to the 2025 U.S. National Snow Sculpting Competition in Lake Geneva, WI, along with a cash prize of $1,000. All teams are eligible for the People’s Choice award to be determined by the community, with the winners claiming a cash prize of $300. The competition is sanctioned by Winter Fun Inc.

Teams are encouraged, but not required, to design snow sculptures inspired by the theme of Love. Educational programming and entertainment are scheduled to coincide with the Winter Arts community activities. The event will also feature a performance by the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra, highlighting its Spring Classic Concert Series: Star-Crossed Lovers. The concert will include a unique retelling of the love stories of Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story’s Tony and Maria.  

Activities surrounding the snow sculpting competition will begin on Wednesday, Feb. 14, when community members are able to assist prepare the blocks of snow for the competition. Volunteers are asked to commit to a four-hour time slot, either from 8 a.m. to noon, or noon to 4 p.m. 

Teams will begin transforming their blocks into sculptures on Thursday, Feb. 15, with the public invited to watch the sculpting in progress through Sunday, Feb. 18. 

Community activities and People’s Choice Award voting will begin at noon on Sunday, Feb. 18, with the winners being announced at 4 p.m. Community members will have the opportunity to sculpt their own masterpieces in a specially designated area of the park. Inside the Dubuque Museum of Art, Senior High School curators invite you to the opening of the annual K-8 Student Art exhibition, featuring work by over 200 students from every neighborhood and school in Dubuque.  

Food will be available from the Birds. fried chicken foot truck while the YAPPERS, the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque’s youth philanthropy program, will serve hot drinks for a free-will donation. 

Complete competition details and more information on Winter Arts are available at www.dbqart.org or by contacting Danielle Stowell, Dubuque Museum of Art Winter Arts Coordinator at dstowell@dbqart.org or by phone at (563) 581-6988.   

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MEDIA CONTACT
Danielle Stowell, Dubuque Museum of Art Winter Arts Coordinator
stowell@dbqart.org, (563) 581-6988