Saturday, February 27, 2010

 Largest Ice Maze - Buffalo sets world record

 BUFFALO, N.Y., USA -- The ice maze built for the 2010 Buffalo Powder Keg Winter Festival measured 12,855.68 square feet - setting the new world record for the Largest Ice Maze .

 Photo: The world's Largest Ice Maze . Photo by Derek Gee / Buffalo News ( enlarge photo )

   The world's Largest Ice Maze features over 2100 blocks of ice. Each weighs 300 pounds. The center of the maze is shaped like a buffalo, and it is decorated with blue and red lights.

  "We can't wait to bring people down here and show them what a great festival this will be," festival co-chair Jeff Empric said.

 The previous Guinness world record for Largest Ice Maze was set in 2005 when the 8,280-square-foot Pontiac Ice Maze was constructed in Toronto.

When organizers of the Buffalo festival decided to go for the record, they found out the Toronto maze cost more than $300,000.

    But Buffalo was able to pull of the feat thanks to donations and volunteers. Volunteers from Roaming Buffaloes Adventure Club set up the whole festival with cooperation from the city and county.

Artic Glacier ice company donated the 2,200, 300-pound blocks of ice. Local businesses and foundations chipped in with $20,000 to have the ice trucked to HSBC plaza.

Dean Sutton Architects designed the world's Largest Ice Maze , and some 50 volunteers spent the past week building it through snow, freezing rain and melting temperatures.

 Founders of the festival say this is a way to use Buffalo's snowy reputation for some positive attention.
 "It's all for Buffalo and Western New York, to try to give us a good name with our winter reputation that we have," said Jeff Empric, founder of Roaming Buffaloes, the social networking club behind the festival and the world's Largest Ice Maze .

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