NEW BRIGHTON, Minnesota — While Minnesotans wait for snow in the new year, the show must go on for Bartz Snow Sculptures.
"We just kept watching the forecast and we're like, okay this isn't going to happen," said Austin Bartz.
Austin and his brothers, Connor and Trevor, have been building massive snow sculptures of sea creatures since 2012.
It started when Austin caught a pufferfish in Florida. After coming home, the brothers were inspired to replicate it during a snow day.
Since then, they have sculpted nine sea creatures out of snow.
"It's been a fun journey. We never thought we were going to get into this. It's not something that we aspired to be snow artists," Austin said.
But their last creation was in 2020. They took a break during the pandemic.
"We always wanted to do it again," Connor said. "It just... didn't really work at our parents' house anymore. It was just getting too busy."
So this year they moved from their parents' front yard to Brightwood Hills Golf Course. They are partnering with New Brighton Parks and Recreation on the project.
On Thursday, Austin and Connor were busy building pathways but their brother, Trevor, was missing. Trevor now lives a couple of hours away so he helps mostly from afar.
"I bounce things off him," Austin said. "Even though he's not here all the time, we still feel like he's here."
Luke McCann, who works with Austin and Connor, is stepping in to help.
Austin joked around, calling McCann their "replacement brother."
"It's been cool to see the process of the sculpture so far and how hard-working they are," McCann said.
It's been challenging without the snow but New Brighton helped them get a snow machine. It can stay on as long as temperatures stay below 27 degrees Fahrenheit.
"It's a learning process with the snow machine because the temperatures gotta be right. It freezes up, there's not enough water pressure... there's all different things to monitor," Austin said.
They're currently creating pathways and expect to start work on the sculpture next week. They have yet to reveal the sea creature they'll be creating this year.
Ultimately, they come back to this tradition as a way to raise donations to provide clean water for countries that need it. Their fans are currently voting on which country will be chosen to receive the donations this year.
Throughout the years, Austin estimates they have raised more than $130,000 to help provide clean water.
"We love raising money for clean water. We take it for granted here in the U.S. We can open the faucet and have clean water instantly A lot of people in different countries, they don't have any clean water at all. So that really is what drives us," Austin said.
There are several ways people can donate. A GoFundMe page helps cover expenses, employee wages, supplies and materials. Leftover money will be donated to the Clean Water Fund. They also are taking donations through Venmo, World Vision, and on-site during the event.
They hope to have the sculpture ready by January 15.
New Brighton Parks and Recreation is also hosting events at Brightwood Hills Golf Course throughout January.
Brave The BRRR- "Brrzzar" Winter Market includes an indoor market, food trucks and more. You can find more information, here.
You can also follow their progress on the Bartz Snow Sculptures page.
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