Santa Monica Close-up

(top) Champion Ice sculptures Peter Slavin and Kevin Roscoe chisel a 45 foot Ice sculpture at ICE at Santa Monica on Tuesday, October 27, 2009. (above) Civil Engineer Paul Chretien takes an electronic distance measurement of the giant ice sculpture at ICE at Santa Monica on Tuesday, October 27, 2009.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and Downtown Santa Monica will set the Guinness World Record for the tallest ice sculpture in the world at the opening of the ice skating rink, ICE at Santa Monica, on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 4:00pm. In the likeness of Ice Age’s Scrat character, this historical event coincides with the DVD and Blu-ray disc release of Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs. The community and press are invited to witness the unveiling and adjudication by the Guinness World Records™.

The Scrat ice sculpture will stand at 45 feet tall, using 133,000 lbs of ice from across four states. The model was created by artists from Blue Sky Studios, and a team of 14 skilled sculptors from ICE Bulb LLC have been constructing the sculpture at ICE at Santa Monica since Friday, October 23, 2009.

According to Marc Entin, Owner of Ice Bulb LLC, “What makes this 100% free standing ice sculpture so unique is that it is happening in a warm weather climate.” A project like this would normally take more than four days, but because of the 80-degree plus weather in Downtown Santa Monica, time is a big factor. The team in place has been working nights so that they do not have to worry about the ice being exposed to the warm weather elements.

The current record for the Tallest Ice Sculpture is 40.28 feet and was achieved by Michel Amann (France) in Ski Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on April 20, 2006.

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