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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Snowking Anthony Foliot is pleading with vandals to leave his snow castle on Yellowknife Bay alone after a large ice sculpture at the site was destroyed last Wednesday.

Snowking Anthony Foliot lends a hand with some wooden supports to form blocks for the construction of his snow castle on Monday. An ice sculpture was damaged at the snow castle in a spate of vandalism last week. - Danielle Sachs/NNSL photo

Foliot wrote an open letter to the vandals, posting it at two nearby schools.

It's not the first time vandals have wrecked parts of the castle. Foliot has shied away from involving the police but this time he felt compelled to call the RCMP after he found out Thursday morning that vandals shattered a towering ice sculpture measuring more than two metres around.

"Last time they bragged all over Facebook and that's how they got caught," said Foliot, of an incident last winter. "(The police) brought the kid out here and I spoke to him. Have you ever been lectured by an old man? You just sit there and it's so boring."

Foliot is the first to admit than in his younger days he wasn't blameless when it came to vandalism. But what's frustrating now is the fact that the snow castle is built for the enjoyment of youth, and the community-at-large. He is assuming youth were involved.

"I really don't want to make a big deal out of it," he said. "It's just some kids who were out late during exams, not having to get up early for school, and instead of studying they decided to do this," said Foliot.

The future of the damaged ice sculpture is up in the air for now. Currently, there are pieces of ice kicked over in the middle of it, instead of reaching towards the sky like the one next to it.

"We might just leave it like that or try and fix it up like the other one," said Foliot.

Monday afternoon, a tireless crew kept up the pace building supports for the castle walls, working toward finishing the castle for the end of February.

Working five to seven days a week, the walls of the castle are built by using wooden molds in which snow is dumped and left to be packed and hardened.

"The guys are all working non-stop, we want to get this finished for the end of February," said Foliot, who was busy plowing paths with a Bobcat.

Snowking's Letter

Dear editor,

I will be the first to admit that when I was young I was a rascal. Raiding the pumpkin patch of the neighbouring farmer, thinking I was cool to throw stones and branches into the local swimming pool and a whole pile of other things that I'm ashamed to reflect on. But I knew what I was doing was wrong.

So I understand that some youths think doing vandalism is a way to show how "cool" they are. What I don't understand is why some youth would target the Snowking's winter castle.

Don't you enjoy it? Don't you think it is one of things that make our town great? You may think that breaking ice sculptures is no big deal but I'll tell you it hurts my feelings. It's like you are bullying someone.

My crew and I don't have to build the castle but we do because we are proud to live in such a great town. If vandals break, or steal, or act stupid, it makes me wonder if I should continue with the whole snow castle thing.

The vandals who came last Wednesday night know what they did was stupid. Maybe one was more stupid and the rest were too scared to say, "Hey, don't do that."

You are not the first vandals I've encountered. There were vandals before you, and probably more to come. But I know this. There will come a day when someone will target you, and I wonder how you will feel.

The saying, "what goes around, comes around" is actually true. So maybe just stay away, OK?

Anthony Foliot,
Yellowknife

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