Every year, ICE! at Grapevine’s Gaylord Texan displays life-size sculptures made from ice that are all a part of a holiday theme.  This year’s ICE! exhibit has over 2 million colorful sculptures hand-carved by 40 artisans from Harbin, China. The theme is from the classic holiday special “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” featuring all the beloved characters. A walk through the exhibit takes 15-30 minutes or as long as two hours if you choose to linger. Be prepared to wear warm clothes, since the room is set to 9 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure the ice holds its shape and colors. 

Photos: 

1. After entering the chilly room, directly to the left sits Snoopy’s famous red dog house decorated in colorful Christmas lights and bits of snow. Snoopy himself lies face up at the peak of the dog house, his ears dangling along the sides of the roof. In the background sits a large stack of bones atop Snoopy’s red bowl.
2. Charlie Brown and Linus sit behind a wall made of blocks of colorful and clear ice. Viewers are able to stand next to the two statues and pose for pictures.
3. Statues of Snoopy, Lucy, Schroeder, Sally, and Peppermint-Patty in a line are the first eye-catcher in the next room. Each character rotates in a circle, creating the illusion of dancing. Small purple trees fill up parts of the space between them and a picture of a large snowflake decorates the wall behind them.
4. A pink ice fence with snow on top lines the walls of the majority of the exhibit. Curves running up and down each “plank” create a texture similar to that of wood. The pink starkly stands out against the clear ice blocks stacked together behind the fence.
5. Lucy, wearing a red hat and yellow dress, sits in her booth under a red sign reading “Psychiatric Help 5 Cents.” The table she sits at also has a sign reading “The Doctor is In.” Viewers pose for a photo next to her famous booth but are unable to drop money in the green tips jar.
6. Every year, ICE! at the Gaylord Texan has two-story ice slides that guests are welcome to slide down. In this year’s slides, Charlie Brown stands at the top next to his director’s chair, holding a megaphone. He wears his traditional yellow shirt with a black zig-zag across the chest. Along the sides of the room and surrounding the slide stand all of the other characters looking toward their director.
7. Toward the end of the exhibit, Charlie Brown stands next to Snoopy’s elaborately decorated dog house. Christmas lights and a purple chain are draped over the roof and snow hangs off the edge. A yellow and blue first place ribbon is stamped on the side. Charlie stands with a frown on his face to the right of the house. His famous small and bare Christmas tree sits at his feet with one red ornament weighing it down.
8. In the final room, a large green Christmas tree stands in the center. All the Charlie Brown characters create a circle around the tree. Decorated with popcorn, lights, purple chains and a star on top, the tree attracts the attention of the entire room.

Story and photos by Elisa Carroll