Brooklynites of all ages turned out on Saturday for a very cold snow-sculpting contest at Brooklyn Bridge Park.
The shape-off, organized by the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, brought folks down to the frigid waterfront for some heated competition and family bonding.
“We had an awesome time,” said Alan Winchester, who brought his kids Katherine and Henry to the park from their Brooklyn Heights home. “It’s great that the park was able to have an outdoor event this time of year.”
The conservancy agrees.
“Our thinking around the contest was to do something fun with all of the gloomy weather we’ve had this winter, show that the park is still active and engaging in the cold months, and basically to say hi to all of our constituents who we usually only see in the warmer seasons,” said spokeswoman Rachel Fletcher.
Competitors at the Picnic Peninsula on Pier 5 had two hours to craft their frozen masterpieces. Judges awarded prizes in two categories, one for adults and one for families.
The works were not your average snowmen.
Brad Robinson, his girlfriend Maya Shulman, and his friend Kyle Radcliffe snagged top grown-up prize for their four-armed octopus. The piece is impressive, but they got a competitive edge from the fact that they were the only “serious competitors” in the adult category, according to Robinson.
“We weren’t competing to win,” Robinson said. “We just wanted to have some fun.”
The contest was a good reason to get out of the house, he said.
“There’s been too many days where it’s cold and windy, and you don’t want to go out,” he said. “When you actually do go outside, it’s a lot of fun to have an activity to do.”
Winchester’s clan won the family category with another epic creation, a castle with a dragon attacking it.
Grand prize included lift tickets for the ski slopes at Vermont’s Stratton Mountain and a gift certificate to The Moxie Spot a kid-friendly restaurant across Atlantic Avenue from Long Island College Hospital.
The kids were more than all right with that.
“They were through the moon when they found out they won,” Winchester said.
Fancy local pizza chain Fornino served up hot chocolate and treats to the cool contestants and fires in small grills helped warm them up even more.
The light snowfall did not keep people away.
“It made it even more magical,” said Winchester.
And the state of the snow on the ground was nearly perfect for frozen-figure carving, according to the chilly champ.
“The snow was so pliable it sort of stuck in whatever shape you put it in,” Winchester said. “It was like working with clay.”
