HOUGHTON -- Winter Carnival is always a big celebration at Michigan Tech, and it will finally be here Wednesday.
Statues have popped up all over campus since the start of the spring semester, and students are getting ready for cancelled classes and fun with friends.
"During this weekend, the town just comes alive in a new way," said student Colleen Linn. "I’m excited for the excitement and for the revitalization and for this celebration of winter."
"My favorite part of winter carnival is actually the morning after all the statues have been made," said alumna Lydia Patch. "Campus is quiet and everything is sparkling and gleaming."
Over the past couple of weeks, students wouldn’t get out to work on their statues until late in the evening, some staying out until the early hours of the morning. Now that judging is only a couple days away, they’re wasting no time putting the finishing touches on their statues.
Amanda Laramie, a student at Michigan Tech, has been working on her group’s secret statue the past month and said they are in the final stages of the process.
"We’re putting slush on right now, which covers up the rough snow, makes it shiny and stuff like that," said Laramie. "It makes it a lot smoother, a lot prettier."
Although Laramie said she has enjoyed the building process, she is looking forward to the event even more.
"I’m looking forward to see who wins overall statue," Laramie said. "There’s a lot of them that are really big, really impressive. I’m looking forward to be done with the statue hours and for Winter Carnival to really be here."
Students are getting into the Winter Carnival spirit and this mark of Michigan Tech culture and pride.
"When you think about it, sculpting statues out of snow, the most abundant resource we have around here, you know, what do you do with all that snow?" said student Kevin De Las Heras. "People are usually very angry at the snow, but they find peace with it by making beauty out of it."
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