The World Ice Art Championships will not happen in 2018. Ice Alaska, the Fairbanks non-profit which has organized the annual March event since 1989, released a statement over the weekend, saying the 2018 championships have been canceled.
Ice Alaska’s main building burned last December, and the 2017 event was held using alternate buildings and tents. The release says the 2017 championships were not up to the standard of artists and volunteers.
It says reorganizing and rebuilding occurred over this summer, but the recent loss of two major donors and diminished support from its title sponsor, resulted in the board’s decision to cancel for 2018. The releases does not mention BP, but the oil company has long been the World Ice Art Championships title sponsor.
Ice Alaska Organizers say they’ll work toward the 2019 championships by seeking new sponsors and investigating alternate venues. 2018 event supporters are being offered return of their contributions
Dan Bross is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
