CLEVELAND, Ohio — On a cold Winter's day in Cleveland, you never know what you'll see.
"Kangaroo", a passer-by remarked while walking in front of the Great Lakes Science Center. There was, in fact, a kangaroo there, complete with pouch. It wasn't real, but an artist's creation in ice.
"It's a great day to be an ice carver" says Jeff Meyers of Elegant Ice Creations. He and his crew have been using everything from chainsaws to chisels to turn 300 pound ice blocks into crystal clear frozen sculptures of hummingbirds and angelfish, among other things.
The crowds have really enjoyed the carving demonstrations. "The response has been really good. There's been some interactive crowds. Some are a little different. Some are cold and want to get inside, some are just odd. Some end up in that window there, watching us from the inside too," Meyers says.
The buzz of routers and grinders filled the air.
So many sculptures.
Some featured Cleveland Browns themes. Some, Star Wars. But the fan favorite, by far was, according to ice fan Mackenzie Cooper, Frozen. The carving team fashioned a throne of ice for kids of all ages to sit in, pretending they're rulers of Arendale. T
he reactions to all the sculptures really gets to Meyers, making his eighteen years of carving ice a labor of love. "I'm really here for the kids. I mean, they're oooo'd and ahhh'd by it and so are the parents."
But time is fleeting. The sculptures will only be around for a limited time.