River Travel Magazine Feature

 World Record Breaking Ice Carousel in Little Falls, Minnesota

River Travel Magazine | Published 2019-11-16 6:48:04am | Updated 2020-04-18 3:47:36pm

Little Falls, MN:  This year’s I.C.E Fest in Little Falls, Minnesota is January 11-12 on Green Prairie Fish Lake.  Canada recently took hold of the World Record with an ice carousel that was 688 feet wide. Which is nearly a half mile around,  the crew behind I.C.E. Fest has a new record to beat.

Visitors have noted that the ice carousel is pretty impressive in itself, but there’s more to do at I.C.E. Fest then just watch the carousel spinning, visitors may try their hand in one of curling, ice hockey, or ice skating events including snowmobile rides.

The Fest is free, but visitors are encouraged to join in on the fundraiser to feed kids who live in households under the poverty line.  The event is on year three and has raised over $15,000 so far to feed children. The Flyer Pride Pack program sends kids home from school with a bag of nutritious, kid-friendly meals for the weekend.

About Little Falls, MN

Little Falls is a fun spot up North, travelers can warm up at the local brewery, explore the quaint shops downtown, or take a tour of some historic mansions.  Little Falls is home to beautiful bed and breakfasts along with lake resorts and standard hotels. There’s some great dining choices too, including one recognized as “Restaurant of the Year” by the Minnesota Restaurant Association (www.littlefallsmn.com)

I.C.E Fest Contact 
Chuck Zwilling   320.249.1504 
 www.MnIceFest.com

Little Falls CVB Contact 
Sabrina Koelsch  Marketing Manager
Little Falls Convention & Visitors Bureau   606 1st Street SE Little Falls, MN 56345
320-616-4959    lfcvb@lfcvb.com     www.littlefallsmn.com

I.C.E. FEST	LITTLE FALLS, MN
ICE CAROUSEL	LITTLE FALLS, MN

The Farmshow Promotion

A fun article that the @FARMSHOWMagazine ran about I.C.E. Fest 2019. Thank you Dee Goerge for your interest in getting the story out there and helping us promote the World Record Attempt Benefiting Hungry Kids (ICE Fest 2020)!
It took about 9 hrs. altogether to cut out the latest carousel. It kept turning from 1 p.m. on Friday until 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.
With four smaller 45-ft. diameter carousels inside, dedicated to major sponsors for the 2019 event, along with 70 other businesses/groups that raised $16,500 for Flyer Pride Pack.

Exerpts from Article including these little fun facts:

506.2 ft. diameter, 4.6 acre, 8,000-ton circle of ice, 16-in. thick ice,
 49 min. to make a complete rotation

“It’s gone from family fun to world competition, a friendly game of one-upmanship that benefits our community,”

“The first year we used an ice chipper and string to mark a circle in the snow,” Chuck Zwilling recalls. Now in 2019,  they insert a 4x4 into the ice and hook a cable on it to create a perfect circle with a chainsaw secured on a “Chainsaw Chariot” built from a tracked snowblower by Zwilling’s son-in-law, Mike Ruegemer. 

They’ve also learned to angle the 36-in. chainsaw bar and only cut part way with the first cut (about 8 in.) and then go around again. 

Safety features were added this year including - cones, caution tape and a shoveled path that led to a “bridge” to cross the 9-in. open water.

View The Original FARM SHOW Magazine Article:

 2019 - Volume 43 Issue 6 Page 22

 [Archived Article  |   Print Original Magazine Article |    Full Size Article Screenshot Archived

Archived Image 1  -Mike and Chuck cutting ice with chariot-
Giant powered ice carousel measures 508 ft. in dia. and is rotated by 4 electric trolling motors. Four smaller carousels were cut into the big one.
 

 Archived Image 2  - Aerial View of 2019 Carousel 
To cut the ice they use a chainsaw secured on a “Chainsaw Chariot” built out of a tracked snowblower.

PDF Article Format Download
Click here to download the page story appeared in.

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FARM SHOW Magazine
P.O. Box 1029
Lakeville, MN 55044
Order by Phone 800-834-9665

http://farmshow.com/ Website

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