Build snowmen for a good cause

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This article was published 12/01/2021 (1821 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A snowman-building contest is shedding light on the effects of climate change and global warming.

The St. Andrew’s Society of Winnipeg is entering the Last Winnipeg Snowman Contest — and it’s challenging other local cultural groups to take part, as well.

According to a recent news release, the contest is the brainchild of former Winnipegger Maria den Oudsten, whose love of “Winnipeg, snow and people” encouraged her to help organize the first snowman-building contest in the city in 2003, when she was president of the Downtown Winnipeg Rotary Club.

“Thirty-five years ago, I fell in love with Snowmanland, a magical place in the heart of Canada, where snowmen can survive for many months,” den Oudsten said in the release. “The last snowman is a symbol of the failure to address climate change.”

Embracing this year’s contest, organizers at St. Andrew’s Society — following on the heels of the debut of its 2020 pop-up piper series — recently built a pop-up piper-inspired snowman and snowwoman at the junction of Tuxedo Avenue and Nanton Street in south Winnipeg.

“This is one way we can draw attention to climate change and global warming, which is something we all need to be concerned about,” Dwight MacAulay, a society board member who was also the chair of the society’s 150th anniversary committee last year., told The Lance. “So, we thought, ‘why not build a pop-up snowman and snowwoman?’”

MacAulay, who lives in St. Vital, said it might not be possible — due to global warming — to build snowpeople in the future, so this contest provides a great opportunity to have fun and be creative while supporting important causes.  

There is a total of $4,500 in prize money, and all Winnipeggers and Manitobans are encouraged to take part.

Participants are asked to build a snowman before March 21 and post a photo on the Last Snowman Winnipeg Facebook page.

Individuals who don’t use social media can email their photo with the date it was taken to lastsnowmanwinnipeg@gmail.com and it will be posted on the page.  

By posting, entrants agree to the post being shared digitally and in print by the contest organizers. A jury will select the winners based on height, sturdiness, decoration, presence, charm, and ‘likes,’ organizers say.

For each post, $1 will be donated to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Royal Foundation Earthshot Project.