DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

         The U.S. National Tobaggan Championships is the only organized wooden toboggan race in the country and possibly the world.  The toboggan chute is located in Camden, Main at the Camden Snow Bowl, a community owned year round recreation area which has developed thousand of dedicated skiers since 1936.  All race revenue goes to off setting the Snow Bowl budget.   This year they we held on February 5th and 6th.    History    The original chute was first built in 1936 by a dedicated group of volunteers who also built a ski lodge and ski hill, one of the earliest in America.  The chute was again rebuilt in 1954 by local Coast Guardsmen and lasted until 1964 when it was brought to an end because of rot and neglect.    In 1990 it was resurrected once again out of pressure treated wood by another enthusiastic group of volunteers and material donors and was to become known as t...

   The annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival has been held since 1963.  It had been interrupted for a number of years during the Cultural Revolution,  until it was resumed in 1985.    Harbin, the capital of Heilonjiang province of China, it is one of the main sources of ice and snow culture in the world.  Geographically, it is located in Northeast China under the direct influence of the cold winter wind from Siberia.  The average temperature in summer is 21.2 degrees Celsius, -16.8 degrees Celsius in the winter.  It can be as cold as -38.1 degrees Celsius in the winter.  This years festival runs from  January 5th to February 25th, 2016. Niagra falls sculpture    The festival lasts the whole month.  However the exhibits often open earlier and stay longer, weather permitting.  Ice sculpture decoration technology ranges from the modern (using lasers) to tradit...