Warm weather brings ice castle season in Edmonton to an end
Thanks to a bout of challenging weather, the Ice Castles event in downtown Edmonton will be holding its final night of the season tonight.
Organizers say that although it was a shorter-than-expected season, thousands of people visited and enjoyed the icy fortress and its ice slides, ice-carved tunnels, and towers of cascading ice that lit up at night during the two weeks of operation.
The Edmonton Ice Castles finally returned to the city this winter after a five-year hiatus, taking over the Fan Park in the Ice District instead of Hawrelak Park like previous years, which is still closed for major rehabilitation.
Ice Castles
“I am incredibly proud of our crew and their determination to build a spectacular castle in a new location despite every weather challenge thrown their way,” said Ice Castles CEO Kyle Standifird in a news release.
“We stayed open as long as we could, but the season’s rapid shift from extreme cold to unseasonable warmth came sooner than anticipated.”
The event added that, as it is a weather-dependent operation, it’s never known how long we will be able to operate each season.
“We always say that Ice Castles is a delicate dance with Mother Nature. This winter, Mother Nature decided she only wanted a short dance with winter.”
Looking at the seven-day Environment and Climate Change Canada forecast for Edmonton, the daytime highs until Sunday, Feb. 8, will be well above zero.
The final night of the season will go from tonight, Monday, Feb. 2, from 5:30 to 9 p.m.