Ice Carving Club at 2015 Plymouth Ice Festival

Students from HFC and Oakland Community College (OCC) participated in an ice-carving competition earlier this month at the 2015 Plymouth Ice Festival.

HFC dominated OCC, according to Jeffrey Lao, faculty adviser for the HFC Ice Carving Club. The HFC team achieved the following results at this competition:

• HFC student Steve McCormick took 1st Place with his ice sculpture of a dragonfly;
• HFC student/president of the Ice Carving Club Robert Speeks took 2nd Place with his ice sculpture of a turtle dove; and
• HFC student Mark Tampakes took 3rd Place with his ice sculpture of a rat king (a rodent wearing a crown and holding a scepter with a piece of cheese at the end).

HFC took 2nd Place in the Collegiate Team Competition as McCormick and Speeks teamed up to create an ice sculpture of an alien bug.

In the Dueling Chainsaw Competition – where sculptors had 15 minutes to carve their artwork – Lao was named the Champion with his ice sculpture of a turtle. Taking 2nd Place was HFC alumnus Chris Burnash with his ice sculpture of SpongeBob SquarePants.

The HFC Club’s work was on display for approximately 100,000 people over the course of three days to see, most notably, the ice sculpture of a mythical kraken rising out of the water, which took 24 blocks of ice.

The Club also completed four sponsored pieces, including the Red Wings logo, a roasted pig, a martini glass and a generic super-hero.

“These were perfect carving conditions. The temperatures were exactly where we wanted them. Every half-hour, I was doing an interview either with FOX 2, Local 4, Channel 7, as well as CW 50. It was a busy week and a busier weekend. HFC was well-represented at the Plymouth Ice Festival,” said Lao.

For further information, contact Lao at 313-845-6391 or Jjlao1@hfcc.edu, or visit www.HFCCice.com.