Roger Hanson
The City of Superior is seeking vendors to set-up shop on Barker’s Island this February. With the prospect of the creation of a wall of ice sculpture slated to be 90′ wide by 70′ tall, to be built at Barker’s Island Festival Park, visions of hot cocoa, hot cider, food items, and even winter wear such as mittens have been proposed as possible items of interest to visitors.
The City is offering up four 2000 square foot sites adjacent to the parking area across from the location of the planned wall. Vendors will be required to provide their own electrical power for their outdoor booths.
According to Mary Morgan, City Parks & Recreation Administrator, the event has some “twist and turns because we’ve never done this before.” Additionally, the City is uncertain how many people will visit the island to view the ice sculpture, nor does anyone know what potential vendors might expect in sales. The proposed rental fee to operate a retail outlet (emphasis on the word “out” as in outside!) on the island from February 2 to the 28th is $1000. Morgan is quick to add, “vendors will be taking a small risk.”
In September, the Superior City Council approved a three-year contract with “Ice Man” Roger Hanson of Big Lake, Minn., to create the “texturized ice sculpture” which will be lit for night viewing. Hanson has been perfecting his technique for seven years in his own back yard, drawing people from as far away as Texas, according to comments on his website.
Site of Future Barker’s Island Ice Tower
The ice wall is formed by streaming water onto a steel cable from a software-controlled robotic sprayer. The process involves specialized computer software, nozzles, rigging, circuit boards and sprayers designed by Hanson and seismic sensors and strain gauges. The resulting sculpture, weighing in at about six million pounds, have caught the eye of passersby and captured national media attention.
According to Mr. Hanson, he has had several hundred people come to his home daily. It was featured on the Today Show, and videos of it went viral (see video below). The hope is that the high traffic levels on Highway 2/East 2nd Street that pass Barker’s Island will draw attention to the sculpture and draw sufficient crowds to make this not only a positive event for local residents and visitors to the area, but also a profitable one for the vendors who are willing to take the risk in it’s first year here. To see more photos of Mr. Hanson’s past creations, click HERE. His Facebook page also has several interesting images and can be viewed HERE.
2013 Ice Wall built in Big Lake, Minnesota by Roger Hanson
The sea caves of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore were a very popular draw last winter, bringing more than 100,000 to the shoreline off Cornecopia, and a $10-$12 million economic boost to the local economy.
The City is planning for success and is already working on a sound transportation plan for the event. “We have sat down with our traffic sergeant and we are preparing a one-way loop onto and off of that end of the island,” according to Morgan. There will also be a pedestrian corridor and overflow parking at the boat launch parking area to accommodate visitors. Given the success of moving people around on Barker’s Island during such events as the Lake Superior Dragon Boat Festival, there is no doubt the City will be prepared.
Here’s a new’s video from the Today Show and Minneapolis television stations from 2011.
“Assuming we get more than four interested vendors, then we will be evaluating and ranking the proposals,” said Linda Cadotte, the city’s contract analyst. The goal is to provide visitors with a variety of vendors that are a good fit for the ice sculpture and the people who visit. The proposals will also be ranked based on providing the public with a good deal and availability during regular park hours, 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Cadotte said that, “the more available a vendor is the better the ranking.”
Requests for proposals can be obtained by contacting Cadotte at 715-395-7557 or at cadottel@ci.superior.wi.us.
