Driggs Snowscapes and Tetonia Snow Plane rally continue to delight despite pandemic
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DRIGGS — There’s more to Teton Valley than the shoveling out from under Old Man Winter.
This weekend was a fun accumulation of snow celebrations wrapped around the unique artistic and motorized history of the valley with the Driggs Snowscapes – The Art of Sculpting Snow event and the Dale Robson Memorial- Snow Plane Rally in Tetonia.
Snowscapes reimagined
The snow sculpting event in Driggs took form 10 years ago as an effort to keep the local economy on Main Street in Driggs humming after the rush of the holiday season. With the COVID-19 pandemic thwarting many events in the valley over the last 10 months, event coordinators this year chipped away at the idea of having one large snow sculpture featured at the Driggs City Plaza. This is a departure from the large scale sculpting event that welcomed sculptures from around the county over the years to compete for a variety of prizes.
With a team of award-winning local snow sculptures expertly at the helm of one large piece of snow and ice, “The Water Carvers” team is working to create an incredible piece of public art like only a Rocky Mountain team can.
Veteran sculptures include Teton Valley’s Tye Tilt, Doug Cassidy, Jane Linville, Katie Knipe, Ralph Mossman, Michael Hoffman, and Alison Arnold. Together they are creating a piece entitled, “That’s Snow Snake River.” The piece holds a variety of native wildlife that are riding a river raft down the white water of the Snake River. You have to see it to believe it.
The sculpture is expected to be finished Sunday, and it will remain visible to guests until it melts. Keep in mind that masks and social distancing is required in the plaza. The city of Driggs is currently under a mask mandate due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Driggs Snowscapes: The Art of Sculpting Snow is presented by the Downtown Driggs Association, a donor supported nonprofit whose mission is to foster a thriving and vibrant downtown Driggs.
Snow planes — a piece of valley history not long forgotten
This Saturday the city of Tetonia held its annual Snow Plane Rally hosted at the Ruby Carson Memorial Park in downtown Tetonia.
Snow planes are a valley legacy, once a vital form of transportation in the snowy months, the unique vehicles are now a novelty to behold. The City of Tetonia has been hosting the Dale Robson Memorial event for the last ten years drawing snow plane enthusiasts and drivers from around the region to revel in the glory of a history not lost in Teton Valley.
With a variety of planes on display at the park, pilots are on hand to explain the inner workings and challenges of maintaining their vehicles. Engines rev throughout the event displaying a use of wind power before the term became trendy and event participants can enjoy free donuts and hot chocolate while watching the historic sleds slide across the open fields.
Named after pioneering snow planer Dale Robson, the event finds his family attending each year with Dale’s old plane still earning new appreciation for a time gone by.
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