With a warm up to the mid 30's, the boys and I headed downtown to the Lantern Festival which is one of many family events that are a part of the Musuem of Modern Ice, a free, month-long outdoor festival featuring the U.S. debut of Canadian artist Gordon Halloran’s work, Paintings Below Zero.
Situated behind Millennium Park’s famous Cloud Gate sculpture (aka "The Bean"), is Halloran's monumental and colorful ice wall measuring 95 feet long and nearly 12 feet tall. Inspired by a glacial wall in its final stages of movement toward the ocean, the installation will evolve over time with natural and planned changes, so you will see differences in the exhibit as the days pass.
Public programs and family activities are happening each weekend in the American Express Heated Tent adjacent to the ice wall and in the Chicago Cultural Center’s Hot Spot. Today's festivities included making lanterns, masks, and crowns for the Lantern Festival. We also got to make our own ice sculptures and watch live ice carvings It was Extremely crowded but we had a good time and the boys thought the traveling musuem was..."very cool." It ended with a parade with the newly made lanterns, which we passed on because...well...nature called first.
If you're in Chicago or planning to visit this month, head downtown to check out this incredible exhibit. More information can be found at:
http://www.museumofmodernice.com/events/
In the meantime, here are pics from mere moments ago.....