Saturday we had a wonderful time, though a bit frosty on the fingers and toes,as we joined the crowd wandering about beautiful Rice Park and marvelling at the intricate ice sculpture designs which were scattered about
the area.
the area.There was a carved design of a grandfather clock surrounded by carnival button replicas of the past years,which was quite amazing. It was done by two friends who were chefs by trade, which was where they became interested in ice sculpting. They have been at it for the past twenty eight years and still love the art. Also to be seen were large snowflakes of ice, figures, chairs and a long ice wall celebrating the 125 year anniversary of the Winter Carnival, and so many more delicate sculptures. 
The tantalizing smell of hot dogs permeated the air making us hungry. Families were sharing family time as the children played in the snow and the family dog was being a happy spectator as he walked along on his leash, curious and playful, at times.
The King Boreas parade presented itself at 2 o'clock and hosted fire trucks and whistles, police cars, and colorful Klondike Kate with her ladies, who were bursting with song. There were a few colorful floats but due to the economy, the parade was much smaller than usual, they said.
All in all, it was fun to be amidst a joyful group of people celebrating the simple things in life. It is always good to get into new surroundings , especially if it is a once in awhile happening, because it is so easy to get into a rut doing only familiar things. Looking around at the crowd, I told my companion that we were the only seniors to be seen and we got quite a good laugh to think we braved the cold along with the the younger folks.
The feeling that I carried away with me from our day, was one of warmth, laughter, friendship and the happiness that comes from sharing an event with a loved one. It was one of the early pages in our memory log which is just being built.
