We’ve all been taught that water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, or 0 degrees Celsius, or 273.15 Kelvin. This temperature is way lower than the human body temperature of 37 degrees Celsius. To survive in such temperatures takes a wrestling with nature. To have fun in it takes a lot more. But the organizers of Deep Freeze Festival have been making the freezing cold winters of Edmonton fun for 11 years.
The eleventh-annual Deep Freeze: Byzantine Winter Festival took place on January 13 & 14, 2018, along four closed blocks of Alberta (118) Avenue between 90 and 95 Streets and some nearby halls. Organized by Arts on the Ave Edmonton Society, this year’s theme “Into The Winter Grove” offered exciting opportunities for both patrons and artists creating unexpected experiences celebrating the community through its urban landscape and exceptional spaces.
The Deep Freeze 2018 celebrated diverse cultures; Ukrainian, Franco-Albertan, Franco-African, Indigenous, and Acadian/East Coast communities . It was a family-friendly event, celebrating the Russian/Ukrainian “Olde New Year”, fun snow wagon rides, ice-skating, winter mini golf, street hockey, and the famous deep freezer race. Also at the festival to enjoy were; ice sculptors craft their masterpieces, slide down a giant ice slide, cheer on contestants of competition de boucheron (log cutting competition), Lakota Tootoosis, Rumba Caliente Canadá Band, Burundian Dancers/Danseuses burundaises, Métis Child & Family Jiggers, Wajjo African Drummers, River Cree Pow Wow Dancers, Deep Freeze Festival Round Dance and many more.
It is impressive to make not just winter, but the coldest month of winter, that majority of people will choose otherwise, into something fun.
