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International Snow Sculpture Winners Announced in Breckenridge, Colo.

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International Snow Sculpture Winners:
Team Lithuania - Gold
Team Canada, Ontario - Silver
Team Mexico - Bronze

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. – Jan. 31, 2010 – Sixty-five sculpting hours, determination through variable weather conditions and extremely talented sculptors were the ingredients for success for team Lithuania to bring their sculpture, “Milite Est Vita” to life. Team Lithuania will take home the gold today at the 20th annual Budweiser International Snow Sculpture Championships in Breckenridge, Colorado.

"This year's sculptures stood out from previous years in that there was extreme attention to detail and the messages of the pieces were very strong addressing relevant world issues and events," said Jenn Cram, one of this year's judges, ceramist and Breckenridge’s public art and Arts District administrator. "The judging was very difficult this year given the quality of all of the pieces, but we were blown away by Team Lithuania’s simplicity, message and perfectly executed texture and detail."

The results are as follows: Gold: Team Lithuania with “Milite Est Vita” a textured sculpture of a gloved hand holding up the “V” sign symbolizing the fragility and temporary nature of victory…every day is a fight. Silver: Team Canada, Ontario with “Memories from my Youth,” an elaborate sculpture of the face of a Japanese princess from one side and a scene depicting her memories of a banzai garden, pagoda and bridge over a brook from the other side. Bronze: Team Mexico with “The Altar of Quetzalcoatl,” a detailed sculpture that represents Quetzalcoatl, the god of life and dead in the Mexican culture, which included the symbol of the sun in his daily rebirth.

The sculpting finished at 10 a.m. on Saturday, January 30. An official awards ceremony will take place at 3:30 p.m. today at Breckenridge's Riverwalk Center to announce the winners and present them with medals.

Thousands of spectators watched this week as 12 teams from six countries sculpted 20-ton blocks of snow into works of art. The finished pieces were achieved without the use of power tools, internal support structures or colorants - just the ingenuity of man and a medium that lends itself, if only temporarily, to the persuasion of chisels, saws, chicken wire and even carrot scrapers. The sculptures will remain on display at the Riverwalk Center in Breckenridge, Colorado until Sunday, February 7 (weather permitting).