Antonio Baisas (left) and Ross Baisas (right) with their ice sculpture “Alliance” which won first place in the Boardwalk Ice on Whyte Festival in Edmonton, AB in 2018. [Photo courtesy of the Baisas Brothers]

18 February 2021, Ottawa – Ottawa’s annual Winterlude Festival opened on Friday, 5 February 2021 with an array of activities featuring Canadian artists from all over the country. Now on its 43rd year, the festival in Canada’s National Capital Region includes once again its highly anticipated ice-carving competition.

This year’s Winterlude National Ice-Carving Competition features professional Canadian ice sculptors from all over the country competing simultaneously from seven different cities. Filipino-Canadian ice-carvers Ross Baisas and Antonio Baisas join this year’s lineup, representing the cities of Gatineau, QC and Ottawa, ON respectively.

Hailing from the town of Paete, Laguna, the Baisas brothers migrated to Canada more than twenty years ago. Since then, both have become well known in the country and abroad as an award-winning ice-carving tandem. Their recent accomplishments include winning first prize in at the Ice on Whyte Festival in Edmonton, Alberta in 2018, garnering first place in the First International Snow Sculpting Competition in Banff, Alberta in 2019, and placing third in the Ice on Whyte Festival in Edmonton, Alberta, as well as winning the Artist Choice Award in the same year. In 2020, the duo placed second in the 42nd Winterlude Ice-Carving Competition in Ottawa.

This year, both brothers are competing separately in the Winterlude Festival due to local health guidelines in relation to COVID-19 pandemic.

Ross Baisas’ and Antonion Baisas’ entries to the competition may be accessed at the following link: https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/winterlude/sculptures.html

Public voting on the ice-sculptures is open until Sunday, 21 February (noon).