Inspired by a family out west that built a rainbow igloo in their backyard last winter, I thought this would be a great idea for the 2014 Apsley Winter Carnival & Dogsled Race. As Chair of Apsley School Council I brought the idea forward at our January meeting to make this a school project. In 3 and a half weeks we collected 1004 cartons. We used more than 2000L of water and nearly a litre of food colouring. Half a dump truck load of snow was used to make an igloo mould and over 100 volunteer hours went into this project.
The Rainbow Igloo was built over the Family Day Weekend February 14-17, 2014. It is 10ft wide at the base and over 5ft 6″ high in the center. The Apsley Winter Carnival was the weekend of February 21-23, 2014 and we lit up the igloo on Saturday February 22, 2014 at 6pm. The dream became a reality!
This amazing project then led to a great fundraising event. The ‘gloo crew’ ladies Amanda, Meghan and myself pledged to spend ‘A Night in the Gloo’ if we could raise $1004 and/or pounds of food (one for every carton we collected) for the North Kawartha Food Bank. On Wednesday March 5, 2014 less than 2 weeks after we started our fundraising campaign we reached and surpassed our goal! The Rainbow Igloo slumber party happened on Friday March 7, 2014. It was a lot of fun and we were quite comfortable and cozy inside the gloo. As of March 23, 2014 we ended up raising $1110 and 232lbs of food for our food bank.
From a secret wish of mine, to a spur of the moment school project decision, then growing into a community-wide endeavour, to becoming one of the most popular attractions at the carnival, and turning into a very unique and successful fundraising event, I am overwhelmed and humbled by the positive impact this beautiful ice creation has had. Please share this as much as you like. I’d love nothing more than to see rainbow igloos popping up all over the place!
@MayorAmyotte