Anam Khan

Hundreds of people gathered on Portland Street in Dartmouth, N.S., on Saturday to enjoy some good food, music and drinks, but ice sculptures were the main attraction.

The Downtown Dartmouth Ice Festival brought artists from around the East Coast to make sculptures as hundreds of people looked on.

Artists were told to use their imagination to create a sculpture from a 136-kilogram ice block.

Children look at an ice sculpture of Snoopy on his dog house created by Richard Chiasson.

Dartmouth Ice Sculpture Festival

Downtown Dartmouth Ice Festival written in ice. 

Downtown Dartmouth Ice Festival

Ice sculptures  lined in front of restaurants

Ice sculptures were lined in front of restaurants along Portland Street on Saturday. 

Dartmouth Ice Sculpture festival

Customers purchase a beer over a bar made of ice. 

Dear Friend bar services its customers over ice.

Dartmouth Ice Festival

"I like the challenge," said Richard Chiasson, a chef who has been sculpting for 44 years. He learned to carve with butter.

"I like the public interaction. I like the outdoors … all of that. It's beautiful."

Sculptures include&nbsp;a swan, an octopus and a mythological creature. There is&nbsp;one of Snoopy lying on his dog house.&nbsp;

People gaze at a sculpture of a wolf howling at the moon. 

Joel Palmer, from New Brunswick sculpting a mermaid from ice for a little girl. 

Joel Palmer

Joe Palmer came from New Brunswick. When he began his sculpture, a little girl sat in the corner watching his every move.

She asked him to make a mermaid, so he did.&nbsp;

"I like to just be creative," said Palmer.&nbsp;"I had no plan. I woke up this morning and whatever the weather was, whatever&nbsp;… God threw at me, I just took it."

People stand in front of an ice sculpture of an octopus. 

Attendees stand in front of an ice sculpture of an octopus. Sculptures will be left to melt. 

Dartmouth Ice Sculpting Festival 

Sunday is the last day to see the sculptures before they melt away.

Dispute over horse racing revenues heads to Halifax court

Truro Raceway is requesting a stay in a decision from the Atlantic Provinces Harness Racing Commission that would distribute revenues more evenly to the other tracks in the province.

A sign that reads Welcome to Truro Raceway hangs on a white fence. A viewing grandstand sits in the distance.

Anthony Stymest from the Truro Raceway says the new revenue model would cost them around $133,000 per year. 

Truro Raceway

Anthony Stymest of the Truro Raceway says the new revenue model would cost them around $133,000 per year. 

Port Hawkesbury Paper sister company pitches Guysborough County wind farm

A sister company of Port Hawkesbury Paper wants to build a 29-turbine wind farm that would feed renewable energy into the Nova Scotia Power grid.

Scrub is seen in the foreground, with evergreen trees in the background and illustrations of white turbines poking above the horizon.

This illustration shows what the proposed wind farm would look like from Lincolnville, N.S.

Port Hawkesbury Paper Wind

Inflation forcing N.S. seniors to make difficult budget decisions

The Canadian Association of Retired Persons says many members are finding it more and more difficult to adjust to the rising cost of living, while their pensions stay the same.

A women in the fruit aisle of a grocery store, wearing a warm coat. She rests one hand on her shopping cart while thoughtfully weighing an orange in the other.

A consumer chooses fruit at a Colemans grocery store in St. John's.  

Shopping for fruit in a supermarket

Some Nova Scotia seniors are having to make tough decisions to stay afloat.

Growth of starling population a cautionary tale, says N.S. expert

Environmentalists say the spread of the European starling after over a century is a cautionary tale about how widespread invasive species can become over time.

Bill Perks comments: A starling looking for a snack.

A starling looking for a snack by Bill Perks

There are an estimated 200 million European starlings in North America.

When the Penguins have an emergency, they call on someone from N.S. It's not who you think

Mike Chiasson, from Cole Harbour, N.S., is an emergency backup goalie for the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins. The former Acadia Axemen is lifelong friends with one of Cole Harbour's other famous hockey players: Sidney Crosby.

A small crowd watches an outdoor hockey practice at Boston's Fenway Park.

Mike Chiasson, right, is shown at a practice at Boston's Fenway Park on Jan. 1, 2023. Chiasson, from Cole Harbour, N.S., is the Penguins' emergency backup goalie (EBUG).

Mike Chiasson

Mike Chiasson, right, is shown at a practice at Boston's Fenway Park on Jan. 1, 2023. Chiasson, from Cole Harbour, N.S., is Pittsburgh's emergency backup goalie.

Richard Chiasson supplies ice blocks to restaurants and festivals across Atlantic Canada. 

Winter gets cooler with the Downtown Dartmouth Ice Festival

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