Spectators might have to wait until Saturday, one day after the start of the St. Paul Carnival, to walk through an illuminated ice maze.
Carnival organizers said a delay in the ice harvesting has postponed construction of the signature attraction until Wednesday. They had hoped to open the 8-foot-tall maze on Friday along with the other carnival attractions, but now they’re not sure if it will be built in time.
Crews will start harvesting ice from Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis Wednesday morning. Planners originally wanted to cut the 2,500 blocks of ice – each weighing up to 400 pounds – last Friday from St. Paul’s Lake Phalen. Because the ice there wasn’t uniformly thick, they decided to go with Lake Nokomis.
The carnival is soliciting volunteers from the St. Paul Building and Construction Trades Council and other skilled workers. The number of volunteers that step forward will determine the lengths of the work shifts and the opening date of the maze, carnival spokeswoman Mary Huss said.
“It’s a race against time,” she said.
Workers interested in building the lighted maze should sign up through their local union halls.
Copyright 2007 Pioneer Press.