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crubbing toilets and dusting shelves are chores most folks would gladly skip. For Lonnie Hubbard, it’s all part of a day’s work.
Hubbard is the owner of Extreme Clean a residential and commercial cleaning businesses she started 23 years ago. The Savanna resident said she owes her love of cleaning to her strict upbringing, and a mother who insisted on a thorough cleaning. When she started babysitting as a teenager, she would tidy up the home, picking up toys and doing dishes while keeping tabs on the children she was watching. She also saw how helpful it was to grateful parents when she would do these extra chores.
In 1999 she decided to start her own cleaning business. Today she serves clients in roughly a 75mile radius of her home, stretching as far as Grand Mound, Iowa, with several clients in Lake Carroll, Galena and Apple Valley.
Extreme Clean owner Lonnie Hubbard means it when she says, "I will go to the Extreme to Clean your home." She'll also go to any lengths — and height — to get her clients’ homes spotless.
“I enjoy what I do,” Hubbard said.
She has built a small team to help her, and often works in tandem with another person, always making sure the cleaning is up to her high standards.
Many of her customers utilize her for bi-weekly cleaning, but she offers the full range, from weekly or monthly cleanings to deep cleanings. Sometimes, her jobs are more than just tidying up around the house. Through the years she’s also helped clients prepare their homes to place on the market, and cleaned up and cleared out a home after a loved one’s passing.
Another reason people give her call? Getting a rental ready. It was about 10 years ago that she got her first job cleaning a home that someone was renting out for short-term vacations. Today she has several clients who use her for their vacation home rentals.
She said that when utilizing a cleaning service for vacation rentals it’s important to include 48 hours to 72 hours between rentals so she and her team can get to the home
and clean it thoroughly before the next guest arrives.
“Those homes are very demanding,” she added.
While it may seem like a luxury to hire someone to help clean, it has many benefits. She’s been hired to help clean for clients who were dealing with medical issues, being there to offer her services after a knee or shoulder surgery so the homeowner won’t need to worry about those chores. She’s also been there to lend a new mom a much-needed hand after the birth of a child.
For Hubbard, it’s more than just dusting and vacuuming. She gets to know her clients and their needs.
“Most of them become friends,” Hubbard said. “I know their birthdays, anniversaries, their kids’ names and what school they got accepted to.”
When it comes to finding the right person to help with your home, Hubbard has a few tips to help the process. First, she said always ask to see the business’s license and insurance. She said that while someone may say they have these, that may not always be the case, so it’s best to ask for proof. While some communities, like Lake Carroll, require businesses to register, many do not and failing to ask for these documents could leave a homeowner with big, costly problems down the road in the event an appliance breaks or malfunctions during a cleaning service.
Another important tip is thinking ahead when planning to hire a cleaning service for a specific need. Hosting a party or special event? It’s important to book a cleaning service three to four weeks in advance. Hubbard said her calendar is often booked and even when there’s a cancelation, she can fill it pretty quickly, so she prefers when clients can book in advance, allowing her to make sure their request is handled.
And if you’re getting ready to get a bid from a cleaning service, don’t preclean the home. Hubbard said she prefers to offer a set bid on her services, and being honest about what a client needs and wants allows her to bid appropriately. If a cleaning service bases its bid on a home that’s all tidied up, only to discover when they arrive for the first cleaning that there are dishes stacked in the sink, clothes strewn about bedrooms, and a toy room that looks like a tornado hit it, it will, in the end, require more time and costs.
Hubbard said she also cautions people to be careful when someone offers to
clean an entire home for a price that seems too good to be true. Those businesses may not have insurance or, it could be a scam that involves home thefts. She’s had clients decide to try someone new for a lower cost, only to learn about problems down the road.
With the right company and a client who is honest about expectations and needs, a cleaning service can be enjoyed and sometimes, even help a home owner improve their own cleaning regiments.
“I’m in this business because I love it,” Hubbard said. “I want my clients to walk in their home after I’ve cleaned and for that day, just be able to relax.”
Wyatt Doty took third place in Class 1A at 126 pounds at the 2022 Illinois High School Association state meet. Doty, who wrestles for the Polo High School cooperative, which includes Eastland High School, has his eyes set on a state championship this season.
ALEX T. PASCHAL/ APASCHAL@SHAWMEDIA.ORG
By Cody Cutter Sauk Valley Media
f he’s going to make it to the top, there’s something Wyatt Doty is going to have to grapple with first.
His opponents.
But this high school wrestler is used to fighting his way to the top, and given his record on the mat, he should be ready to make his senior year a memorable one.
The son of Andrew and Barb Doty of Lake Carroll, Wyatt has been successful at wrestling for the four years he’s represented Eastland High School — the first two years with the West Carroll High School cooperative, and the past two with the Polo High School co-op with Polo, Milledgeville and Forreston.
Wyatt’s wins have taken him far in the high school wrestling scene. He finished in third place among all Class 1A wrestlers at the 126-pound weight class at the Illinois High School Association state meet in his junior year, having concluded the season with a 31-6 win-loss record.
Wyatt Doty’s spent a lot of time wrestling — from practicing in his family’s basement when he was still in grade school, to earning respect representing Eastland High School for the past four years — and one of the senior’s fondest memories is earning third-place honors last year at the 2022 Illinois High School Association state meet.
As of mid-December, Wyatt’s on pace to build on his success, and now he’s wrestling in the 132-pound class. The top prize for high school wrestlers is a state championship, and Wyatt has his eye on the prize and if he earns it, he’ll be following in some family footsteps. Such a win would give his family two state championships, as Wyatt’s older brother Ethan, who currently wrestles for Upper Iowa University, was a state champion in 2019. Wyatt is considering continuing wrestling in college as well.
@ S A MOC.YELLAVKU
With wrestling season in full swing, Lake Lifestyle recently caught up with Wyatt to talk to him about his time on the wrestling mats …
What do you like and enjoy about wrestling?
I think wrestling takes a lot of dedication. You only rely on yourself and not your teammates to help you out there on the mat. It also takes a lot of willpower to skip out on lunch or dinner to make your weight. The willpower through the sport is going to help me out a long way in life.
I love the atmosphere of the [wrestling] room. You make a lot of good buddies in there and you make a lot of good memories. Plus, the long weekend tournaments are cool, where going away to hotels can make a good memory. I think more people should go out for the sport.
What makes wrestling a sport that is worth participating in?
I would drive home life skills. You get a lot of life skills in wrestling. Some people may be worried about making weight, but you can just wrestle where you want to and have fun.
When did you first start to wrestle and what are some of your early memories?
At age 6 or 8, maybe. It’s been a long time. The first memory that pops in my mind is practicing in the basement of my house with my brother, and drilling moves with my dad on the weekends. I used to watch film, which I used to hate all of the time. There were also the tournaments every weekend, and practices down in the Quad Cities, and all of the traveling done to go wrestle — it just makes a lot of opportunities for you.
From your freshman year to your senior year, what do you think has been the biggest improvement in your skill?
Freshman year wasn’t my brightest year, and I didn’t make it past the regional tournament. From that to placing at state last year, my biggest improvement is my positioning and my mindset on the mat. I’m not giving in or giving up stuff, just through time and really focusing and buckling down on the sport.
What’s your primary focus when you’re on the wrestling mat? Obviously you want to pin your opponent, but what else?
Get to my go-to move, the cradle.
It’s a good crossface, a good grip, and getting him held and squeezing it tight.
You’ve had the opportunity to wrestle with teammates at West Carroll in the past, and now with students from Polo, Milledgeville and Forreston with the Marcos co-op. What’s it like to have teammates from so many different schools alongside you?
It’s really good. I’m glad that we have the opportunity to be co-oped with someone and be able to be a part of a wrestling team. I’m really grateful for it, and just being able to be around a lot of different people who have different techniques that they have learned, it just all combines into one.
What does it take to be a wrestler, and what does it take to be a good wrestler?
To be a good wrestler, you need mat time. You can’t just jump into the sport the first year and think you’re going to win state — unless you’re super-talented and can absorb everything that comes to you. But it takes a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of “keep going at it,” even if you’re tired. After you’ve got your mat time and all that, keep grinding. If you’re on the mat and tired, you just keep going and keep pushing through, even if you’re down by 10 or 14, you just keep going at it because you could still win that match.
Do you have any specific training techniques?
I start most mornings around 6 a.m. with a Peloton bike, and then 100 push-ups and 100 situps, and then sit in the sauna to lose the water weight. At practice, I’ll jump rope, do planks, and extra stuff.
There are people who may think wrestling is just about grappling, but there’s a lot that goes into being good at it. Do you think most people know there’s so much that goes into it?
A lot of first-year wrestlers think it’s all grab and just go, but it’s a lot more muscular strengthening that what most people think.
Having placed third at state last year, what’s it going to take to get back to, and exceed, what you’ve accomplished so far?
Just to reflect on what I’m doing wrong on any match— it doesn’t matter if it’s an easy one or a hard one, just to go back and look at my film to make sure I didn’t forget anything in my technique, and just fix it up. Hopefully I think this year I’ll bring home a championship.
Do you believe wrestling is an intense sport? If so, how intense can it be?
It can get super intense with wrestling someone as quick as you, it can go back and forth and get super crazy, super quick with funky moves and funky spots, snap downs and someone countering a move back and forth. Those are the good matches to watch, the back-and-forth ones.
What’s the most memorable achievement so far in your wrestling career?
Last year winning my third-place match was a pretty awesome moment, and even winning the sectional match [for a state berth] is a good memory. That, and going into the [state] semifinals knowing that I’m going to place this year, no matter what.
Wrestling in the state finals at Assembly Hall in Champaign is the place where you want to be. It’s one thing sitting in the stands and watching it; is it another thing actually being in the middle of it? My brother Ethan went all four years, so I was up in the stands watching him those four years. My first time actually being down there was a wide awakening from being up there. The atmosphere is different. Everyone’s serious and no one’s smiling down there, and everyone feels as if they’re ready to go to war with someone.
Is there any person who inspires you in athletics?
My dad and my brother. They push me to do my best out on the mat.
What else about wrestling makes it a special sport?
Wrestling is the hardest sport out there that you can do. It’s just so, on you. It’s not like football where you’re relying on 10 other guys to stop someone. It relies on you, and it takes a lot of doing things outside the sport to do stuff, like waking up early to work out, and it takes a lot outside of the sport to be good at it I’d say about 2 hours a day. It’s pretty much going to war with one other person out there, and whoever is physically stronger or better, or faster, is going to win that match.
S HAWMEDIA.ORG
he birds may have already headed south for the winter, but this month’s day trip heads the opposite direction: across the state line, to Monroe, Wisconsin. Do you love cheese? Or how does enjoying a little slice of Switzerland suit you? Then Monroe is a worth a road trip. The seat of Green County, Monroe (population 10,625) is known as the “Gateway to Cheese Country” at the edge of a state whose landscape is dotted with dairy farms and often referred to as The Cheese State. Together with a picturesque rural setting that reminds one of Switzerland’s rolling hills, there’s no doubt that there’s going to be no shortage of Swiss cheese in town — or cheddar, or Colby, or even Limburger. Monroe is home to a number of cheese factories and is a shipping hub for additional ones throughout the region.
Your tour guide ...
Cody Cutter
It’s also been designated as one of approximately 3,600 Tree City USA’s by the Arbor Day Foundation, a designation it’s held for more than 30 years.
Green County Cheese Days is Monroe’s largest festival, which typically is held the third weekend of September on even-numbered years. The next Cheese Days event is Sept. 20-22, 2024. The festival has a variety of cheese vendors, cheese-making demonstrations, parades, a carnival, live entertainment, royalty crowning, running and walking races, contests and more. Go to cheesedays.com or call 608-325-7771 for more information.
But Monroe is more than just cheese. It’s also one of southern Wisconsin’s major cities, with a downtown filled with places to eat and shop, a vibrant arts and sports scene, and unique stores. So join us for a trip to city that’s full of cheese and trees, and that aims to please ...
SKY-VU DRIVE-IN, N1936 state Route 69
GOETZ THEATER, 1704 11th St.
Online: goetzskyvu.com/GOETZ THEATRE/GOETZ HOME.html or find Goetz Theatre and Sky-vu Drive In Show Times and Movie Information on Facebook. Hours: Check online for show times
When it comes to watching movies, the Sky’s the limit in Monroe, where you can catch the latest feature flick in the great outdoors during warm-weather months at the Sky-Vu Drive-In. When it starts to get a little nippy outside, the Goetz Theater invites you downtown to come inside, grab some popcorn and grab a seat and watch a movie on one of its three screens. The two businesses are owned by the same family, one that’s been showing movies for more than 90 years. Chester and Leon Goetz opened the downtown theater in 1931, during the fledgling days of talking pictures. The next generation of the family, led by brothers Robert and Nathan Goetz, opened the drive-in 1954 to expand the Monroe area’s movie offerings. The third and fourth generations of the Goetz family continues to operate the theaters — the drive-in always having been the only one in the state southwest of Madison, Wisconsin’s capitol. At a little more than 100 feet wide, Sky-Vu’s screen is among the largest in the Midwest, with eight rows of parking. In 2012, the theater was one of the earliest drive-ins to convert to digital projection. It’s also one of the cheesiest, too — when it comes to its pizza. It’s in Wisconsin, what else would you expect? The Sky-Vu Pizza is a multi-cheese blend with a thin crust, topped with whatever toppings you like. Be sure to bring cash when visiting either venue, it’s the only form of payment accepted for tickets and concessions. No carry-in food is allowed.
Wisconsin has long led America in cheese production, and in 2020, the state churned out a pretty big chunk — 3.4 billion pounds — of the nation’s 13-plus billion pounds of cheese, so you won’t have any trouble finding some when you visit The Dairy State, and Monroe is no exception. There’s no shortage of places to buy some cheese to chomp on or a slab to slice into in Monroe ...
ALP AND DELL
657 Second St. | 608-328-3355
HOURS: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday
ONLINE: alpanddellcheese.com and on Facebook Alp and Dell’s motto says it all about its approach to customers satisfaction: “Eat cheese and live well.” The shop is the home store for Emmi Roth cheese, and carries both domestic and imported cheeses. Cheddar cheese comes in varieties aged up to 12 years. Alp and Dell offered tours and window views of Emmi Roth’s cheese making process before the COVID-19 pandemic put a temporary halt to it. Online shopping is available.
Chalet Cheese Co-op N4858 County Highway N | 608-325-4343
HOURS: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday ONLINE: chaletcheesecoop.com and Facebook
Of all of the cheese shops in Wisconsin — and even the United States — Chalet Cheese is the only place where Limburger cheese is produced. The pungent Country Castle, wrapped in its familiar foil packaging, is especially popular in Belgium and Germany. Country Castle is available at nearly all of the shops throughout southern Wisconsin. Chalet Cheese also specializes in producing Baby Swiss, Wisconsin Brick, Swiss and smoked versions of these cheeses.
1023 16th Ave. | 608-325-6157
HOURS: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday. 8 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday
ONLINE: baumgartnercheese.com and on Facebook
Established in 1931, Baumgartner’s is the oldest cheese shop in Wisconsin and doubles as a Swiss-themed tavern. The shop carries a variety of cheddar, Swiss, mid-white and blue and washed rind cheeses. Sandwiches are served on dark rye bread with a thick slice of Swiss, brick, cheddar, Limburger (from Chalet Cheese) or any of the other cheese sold in the store. Horseradish mustard also is made in-house.
2108 Sixth Ave. | 608-325-4636
HOURS: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday though Sunday from May to October
ONLINE: Nationalhistoriccheesemakingcenter.org and Facebook
There’s no shortage of places to get a taste of Wisconsin’s cheese, but where do you go if you want to learn about its history and how it’s made? The National Historic Cheesemaking Center Museum. This unabashedly cheesy museum aims to recognize the importance of the dairy farmers, cheesemakers, and other parts of the industry, from farm to market.
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You can even visit a restored, working 1800s-era cheesemaking factory, the Imobersteg Cheese Factory, where each year on the second Saturday of June, a 90-pound wheel of Swiss cheese is produced, just as it was commonly done more than a century ago. Tours are led by knowledgeable veteran cheesemakers. While cheese is made all throughout Wisconsin, only the best are recognized as “master cheesemakers.” Wisconsin is the only state that has a recognized program of its kind, and the museum honors those who are dedicated enough to master the craft of making the perfect cheese. Want to go to it now? You’ll have to wait: The museum is open only from May to October. The place also is the Green County Welcome Center, with plenty information about various things to see and do while in Monroe’s neck of the woods.
It wouldn’t be winter in Wisconsin without some ice sports, and there’s plenty to enjoy in Monroe. When it comes to high school sports, southern Wisconsin has something northwest Illinois doesn’t: HOCKEY. The Monroe High School Cheesemakers boys hockey team competes against other schools throughout the state from November to February. The team includes not just students from Monroe, but also some from New Glarus and Pecatonica in Wisconsin; as well as Dakota, Durand, Lena-Winslow, Orangeville and Warren high schools in Illinois. This year’s team is looking to rebound from a 2-21 campaign from a year ago and get closer to where they were 3 years ago, with a 14-7 record. Games are played at the Monroe Stateline Ice and Community Expo Center, 1632 Fourth Ave. West. Go to badgerconference.org/ public/genie/77/school/13 for a schedule.
CURLING is a sport that doesn’t garner a lot of attention in the United States, but is popular elsewhere and prominent during the Winter Olympics — and it can also be enjoyed in Monroe. The Alpine Curling Club, 1319 31st Ave., has members practicing their skill, whether it’s gliding the stones or keeping them going with the brushes, and they’ll be happy to teach people how it’s played and the physics behind achieving a high score. From November to March, there’s activity at the club “nearly every day,” according to its website. Curling began in the 16th century in Scotland, and, along with hockey, is popular in Canada. Find the club on Facebook or go to alpinecurlingclub.com for events and more information.
1217 17th Ave. | 608-325-3461
ONLINE: Turnerhallofmonroe.org and Facebook
HOURS: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday
like a traditional Swiss public gathering place, Turner Hall has multiple purposes: It’s home to the Ratskeller Restaurant, has an 8-lane bowling alley, and a dance hall with Sunday shows offering a variety of dance styles: old world polka, schottisch, and rock and roll. The Monroe Swiss Singers choral group also is headquartered at the hall. The place is Monroe’s hub for Swiss heritage and is also the starting point for those who want to learn more about its culture. In addition to the hall’s usual offerings, heritage events are planned throughout the year. The Turner name originates from the German word for gymnasts, who used large indoor open places to engage in their activity. The Ratskeller Restaurant has special dishes such as Kalberwurst, a mild veal sausage served with onion gravy; Wienerschnitzel (pronounce the “W” with a “V” to blend in), a chicken breast or pork loin breaded in a pretzel panko and cooked to a golden brown; or Schnitzel ala Holstein, which is a Wienerschnitzel topped with a fried egg. A fish fry, featuring beer batter using brew from the nearby New Glarus Brewing Company’s Spotted Cow blend, as well as chicken sandwiches and a hamburger, also are available.
GUILD 910 16th Ave. | 608-325-1111
ONLINE: Monroetheatre.com and Facebook HOURS: Call or check online for show times
Established in 1970, the Monroe Theater Guild holds a host of shows featuring local actors and actresses of all ages who entertain residents and tourists alike with their best renditions of classical and modern plays, movies and stories. The theater’s show schedule for 2023 will be announced soon. Last year, performances of “Jake’s Women,” “Right Before I Go,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” and “Elf” took center stage. In 2021, “Clue,” “Lombardi,” (about the legendary Green Bay Packers coach) and “Miracle on 34th Street” were performed.
While you wander about Wisconsin, take time to take in the state’s topography its gently rolling hills, lush landscapes of spring and summer greens, and kaleidoscope of fall colors. Enjoy a relaxing drive in the country; and if you want, there are plenty of places to take a walk, ride a bike or take a hike. Monroe is the starting point of two trails in the state’s network, overseen by the Wisconsin State Park System.
The Badger State Trail connects Monroe to the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison on a former Illinois Central railroad rightof-way. The trail actually starts just a couple of miles south of Monroe in the unincorporated community of Clarno and meanders for 40 miles (as the crow flies) through farm lands, rolling hills, prairies, ravines, and small communities along the way. This trail extends into Illinois as the Jane Addams Trail, which terminates in downtown Freeport.
Go to dnr.wisconsin.gov/ topic/parks/trails to learn more about these and more than 40 state-maintained trails throughout Wisconsin.
The Cheese Country Trail runs from Monroe and heads northwest to Mineral Point along former Milwaukee Road right-of-way. The trail is popular with off-road vehicles and also meanders through many natural areas.
Wisconsin’s oldest India Pale Ale (IPA) brewery also produces several kinds of wines and spirits. Having grown from a simple operation to a multi-faceted operation today, Minhas also has a restaurant, tap room, brewery tours and The Herb and Helen Haydock World of Beer Memorabilia Museum, which features hundreds of ads, glasses and other bits of breweriana dating as far back as the mid-1850s. Hourlong brew tours are available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Just some of the products that come from the plant, as well as its other plant in Calgary, Alberta, include Huber Bock beer, Blumer’s Moonshine, Alamo Gold tequila, Blumer’s Absinthe Superior and Titanium vodka. Blumer’s soft drinks also are available. Huber can also be found on tap at select taverns in town.
1208 14th Ave. | 1-800-233-7205
HOURS: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday
ONLINE: Minhasbrewery.com and Facebook
There’s a mouse in the house! This clever chunk of cheese in downtown Monroe celebrates the city’s and its state’s love of cheese.
The Swiss Colony is one of the nation’s leading food gifts catalog businesses, and it’s headquartered in Monroe. The plant is recognizable with its Swissmotif front entryway, but the outlet store is a few blocks north. Not only does the store carry cheeses and treats made in town, but also has plenty of clothing and home decor products made possible through The Swiss Colony’s acquisitions of several businesses, such as Montgomery Ward, Seventh Avenue and Country Door. For nearly 100 years, The Swiss Colony has made fine Wisconsin cheeses and sausages, as well as confections from the nation’s largest hand-decorated bakery at the plant. Cheeses and sausages come in all kinds, and sugary treats such as Petit Fours, butter toffee and Christmas fruitcake are among popular sellers. There’s even a cross between sweetness and cheesiness: Be sure to grab a pound of cheese fudge to take back home.
Take a stroll downtown to the city’s historic town square, where a stately 1891 county courthouse, with clocktower, is surrounded by the heart of the business district. Businesses found downtown include antique, specialty, clothing, and gift shops, as well as restaurants and cafes. The aforementioned Baumgartner’s Tavern and Goetz Theater also are downtown. Some businesses, true to the town’s European motif, include the word Haus, which is German for “house.” The pedestrian-friendly downtown is also home to a farmers market and hosts events including Green County Cheese Days, and others. Be sure to check out several “cheese” art exhibits and test your knowledge with cheese trivia.
A participant works on his entry during the 2016 Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition in Rockford. See the story on page 30 for more info on this event
now is a magical pearlescent gift in the cold winter months, bringing wonder to all ages, and that includes road trips that’ll give you the opportunity to be a part of that magic as snow sculptures are carved and shaped at a pair of annual events in Wisconsin and Illinois.
In Wisconsin, Lake Geneva’s Winterfest “revolves around a competition called the U.S. National Snow Sculpting Championship, which is an annual championship,” said Deanna Goodwin, vice president of communications at Lake Geneva. “That competition has been going on for 38 years and 28 of them have been in Lake Geneva, so we’re kind of its ongoing home.”
By Kelley White Shaw MediaFifteen teams of sculptors from throughout the country will spend roughly 72 hours shaping their art to perfection.
“The teams are invited to the championship event by way of their state competitions,” Goodwin said. “The first-place team in each state is invited, and if they can’t come, the runner-up takes their place.”
The snow sculpting competition will kick off Feb. 1 and run through Feb. 5. The sculptors are set to begin their marathon artistry at 11 a.m. Wednesday through to Sunday, giving spectators the opportunity to see the progress in real time. Go to visitlakegeneva.com/winterfest/ for more information.
This festive community event is free and full of delightfully frosty fun. “The sculptures are broken up between Flat Iron Park and the Riviera complex,” Goodwin notes. “The Riviera complex will have six or seven sculptures and Flat Iron Park will have the rest.”
The memorable Miser brothers, Heat Miser and Snow Miser — from the stop-motion Christmas classic, “The Year Without a Santa Claus” — were among the entries at Rockford’s 2020 Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition in a two-sided sculpture, “Foul Weather Friends,” created by Belvidere North High School.
COURTESY OF THE ROCKFORD PARK DISTRICT
Don’t forget to cozy up to Bonfires on the Beach on Friday and Saturday night of Winterfest, sipping hot chocolate and toasting delicious s’mores amid an artsy winter wonderland. The bonfires are free, and the coffee, hot chocolate and s’mores kits will be available to purchase from a nonprofit stationed at the Riviera. Proceeds will go directly back to the nonprofit organization.
“The Riviera will be open on the weekend so people can come up for food, restrooms and a warming station,” Goodwin said. “We do the awards ceremony on Saturday afternoon after the votes are tallied for people’s choice awards. You can vote online, at the Riviera or at the Flat Iron visitor’s center. This year, the awards ceremony will be public again.”
Separate from the snow sculpting competition will be the fan favorite Downtown Ice Sculpture Walk, featuring an impressive array of fully completed icy intricacies.
“Our downtown central business district is just a block or two away from the lakeshore which means within walking distance of the Winterfest site, there will be a downtown ice sculpture walk or tour,” Goodwin said. “Last year we had almost 40 sculptures and it’s another art installment beyond the snow sculpting.”
Another Lake Geneva event that makes freezing pleasing is Ice Castles, a frozen outdoor landscape that’s a stunning site to behold. The ice castle is built entirely by hand using hundreds of thousands of icicles hand-placed by professional ice artists. The castles include breathtaking LED-lit sculptures, frozen thrones, ice-carved tunnels, slides, and fountains. Organizers boast that they bring fairy tales to life with their icy creations.
The winter attraction, held at Geneva National Resort & Club, 1091 Hidden Cottage Circle, is weather dependent, so check ahead before planning a trip. Go to icecastles.com/wisconsin/ for more information or to buy ticket for the Lake Geneva event, and icecastles.com to learn more about Ice Castles.
From cold-weather castles to spectacular sites of white, Lake Geneva promises outdoor adventures that’ll be frozen in your memory for years to come.
on’t want to make the trip to Wisconsin to see some snow sculptures? There’s a place closer to home, in Rockford, where a chip off the cold block makes for some pretty amazing works of art during an annual competition that attracts snow artists from across the state.
The Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition will take place at Sinnissippi Park, 1401 N. Second St., from Jan. 18-21. The event, organized by the Rockford Park District, attracts teams that compete for the right to represent the state in the U.S. National Snow Sculpting Competition.
The idea for the Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition started in 1985, when a pair of local businessmen, Dennis Johnson and Brian Hampton, stopped by a winter carnival while they were snowmobiling in Wisconsin. There, they saw a snow sculpture created by a Wisconsin couple, Jim and Bev Neihaus. So impressed were they with the couple’s creation, they arranged to bring them to Rockford the next year to create wintery works of art at Sinnissippi Park: an American eagle, the Statue of Liberty and the Liberty Bell. The patriotic trio proved to be so popular that a group of organizers decided to start a snow sculpting competition in Rockford, and in 1987 the city hosted the first Illinois Snow Competition. From there, things really began to snowball and today, the event draws as many as 50,000 visitors to see the bigger-than-life snow sculptures. And what happens if there aren’t enough flakes to pack together for the pieces? Well, the snow show must go on — and it does. The Park District used to rely on Jack Frost to deliver enough of the white stuff, but when you need 32,000 cubic feet of snow to form the blocks that the cold carvers sculpt, you can’t afford to leave anything to chance. So, in 2016 the district picked up a pair of snowmaking machines to let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
Artists use a host of hand tools and other techniques to make their masterpieces: axes, machetes, water buckets, shovels, ice chisels, and homemade tools — no power tools or prefab molds allowed.
If you want to stroll (or drive) through the park one day and see the sculptures, viewing hours are daily from sunrise until 10:30 p.m. Limited parking is available at the park, and additional parking is available in the overflow parking lot at the Nicholas Conservatory and Gardens, 1354 N. Second St., just west of Sinnissippi Park across Second Street.
Visitors can also help decide who will win the competition’s People’s Choice Award in the state and high school divisions. Voting — accepted from 8:30 a.m.-noon Saturday, Jan. 21 — can be done online or via text at https:// ilsnowsculpting.com/. Winners will be announced an hour after voting closes during a ceremony at the park.
Sculptures will stay up after the event, until Mother Nature decides it’s time to warm things up and start to get ready for her own works of art: the buds and blossoms of spring.
Above: The Snow Whisper team had a tale to tell at the 2021 Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition, and it began with their entry: “Once Upon a Park Bench.” Right: Honest Abe made an appearance at the 2019 competition, courtesy of the Windy City Snowmen team. For more photos from the competition, go to https://ilsnowsculpting.com/ and click on the “Photo” link at the top of the page.
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A nice part about snow sculpting? It doesn’t cost much. You can find all the materials you need around the house and on the ground — that snowfall is a freefall!
A form to create the base that you’ll carve — a trash can or sturdy box will work. Don’t make it too big, though. You’ll need to be able to tip it over later.
Tools — You can find what you’ll need around the house and garage. Shovel, saw, knives, chisels, a broom, scraper or putty knife, a spray bottle or weed sprayer full of water.
Start filling your form with snow, stopping every few inches to pack down the snow. What’s the best snow to use? Fresh snow is the best; a rule of thumb is that if you can pack a snowball, the snow’s the right temperature for carving. The sweet spot is between 20 and 25 degrees. Warmer than that and the snow can melt; colder than that and the snow becomes more brittle and hard to work with.
Once it’s full, flip the form over and let it sit over night. Remove the form the following day.
Draw your design on the snow with a permanent marker (its alcohol-based ink won’t freeze). It’s best to have a visual reference on hand. Find a photo or drawing, or sketch out what you want to create beforehand on paper — or if you’re more ambitious, make a mini-3D model. Another tip: Keep it simple. Don’t be intimated by the pieces you see in competitions. Start with something basic, and once you’re comfortable with working with the snow, you can get more adventurous.
Grab your tools and start chipping away. Go slowly and stick as closely as possible to your sketch or model.
If the snow becomes too dry or powdery, you can give it a spritz of water to wet it lightly. Water also comes in handy if part of your sculpture breaks just wet both surfaces lightly and reattach. You may have to hold it in place or fasten it while it fuses together.
When you’re done, you can spray the sculpture with water to help it last longer, but some sculptors say this may discolor it.
... And remember: Have fun and don’t sweat the mistakes!
