When we arrived this morning to the ship of dreams on Branson's Hwy 76, the parking lot was packed with ice carving enthusiasts and the ship's horn was sounding as we parked, to mark the start of this fierce competition between National Ice Carving Association's Top Professional Ice carvers from ALL over the United States. We were amazed at the tools of this art form including chain saws, torches, wood carving tools, and other devices that we couldn't name. This is a big deal. The Ice Carvers had plans and drawings of what they were going to create and how. These Carvers had 4 hours to create their ice sculpture and at the end of the 4 hours, a judgment would be made for the winners.
While the boys watched these professional men and women go to work, Will and I enjoyed listening to the rock station that was set up on stage in the parking lot. The DJ's of 95.5 were on site to announce the proceedings and feed us with many facts about ice carving and the Titanic. As always, we were privileged to see Jaynee, dressed in her gorgeous long black winter coat and adorned mink hat. She always remembers my boys and makes them feel special. How does she remember so many families? It is that personal touch that makes her so magnanimous.
The event continued to be action packed throughout the day. The Track Family Fun Center had a booth set up where kids could get their pictures taken in 2 of their go-karts and the kids could also play their trivia game to win prizes. I got a kick out of the trivia questions. Our questions were, "what year did the Titanic sink?" and "was there a heated swimming pool on board?" I am, of coarse, a Titaniac, so those questions were a no brainer for me and helping my kids win prizes made me feel like their hero!
I would be remiss if I didn't tell you about the inside of the museum. At the beginning of January, the ship closed for four days so that they could do a deep cleaning, apply fresh paint, and add make renovations. I can't tell you what they added to the exhibit because you need to experience it for yourself. So far, every single person that I have recommended go through the museum has NOT been disappointed and if it has been awhile since you toured, you have to check out the new exhibits!
Back to the competition....we had our favorite which on the Professional side was the sting rays and on the amateur side was the cat grabbing the bird. We were actually amazed by the amateurs. In our opinion, the amateurs were just as skilled as the professionals and we all agreed that everyone did an amazing job, especially considering the extra challenge of warmer than usual winter weather (50 degrees-yikes)! Congratulations to them all. But, as in any competition there has to be a winner and the winner was..... boy were we right on......Professional Division 1st Place winner at $2,000 was Michael Stoddart with his Flight Under the Sea (our favorite sting rays) and 1st Place in the Amateur division went to Nan Li with his Art of Flight. I have to mention that there were prize monies given out to most of the competitors for a total of $7,250 in cash prizes!
