Snowking's mom: 'He was the different one'
Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Apr 04/01) - The subject of magazine and newspaper articles, a television appearance alongside jocular buffoon Wayne Rostad, the target of German television documentary lenses -- staying humble is no easy chore these days for the Snowking.
Anthony Foliot may be known as Snowking here, but back in the Foliot household in Ste. Lazare, Que. he's still 'Ant.'
"He was the different one in the group of five (three brothers and one sister)," said the Snowking's mom, Sylvia. "I guess you've discovered, he's a big kid himself."
Sylvia and the Snowking's father, Gerry, have yet to visit the castle, but swelled with pride when they saw photos of it on the Snowking web site (www.snowking.ca).
Last month the VCRs were set to record in the Foliot household. Gerry and Sylvia sent out word to tune in to Rostad's On the Road Again, for a television feature on the Snowking.
Gerry dialled up the local paper and, the Hudson/Ste. Lezare Times, to let them know of his son's regal stature here. The Times did a big feature on the Snowking.
The Snowking has yet to read the story and sounded as though he is in no rush to see it.
"I can just imagine it's totally embarrassing," he said. Snowking has an aversion to sweet sappy do-good tales.
This year there was no shortage of building supplies at the castle, reported the Snowking: "The deal I made with Old Man Winter and Jack Frost came through in spades -- I mean snow shovels."
The 2001 season officially wrapped up with the Snowking's Royal Ball Saturday night. Late Sunday night the castle came down.
"Three months up, three hours down," said the Snowking magnanimously.
The castle was host this year to the Block 1000 party (to celebrate the cutting of about 1,700 blocks that went into this year's castle), a teen dance, photo show by Robert Dall, art show by Terry Pamplin, the Frozen Dog Film Festival, Little Icicle Royal Puppet Theatre rendition of Snowking: The Musical, and a maple sugar pouring by the Yellowknife French Association.
The Snowking's renown is international in scope. A local tourism company also used the castle for a series of promotional wedding shots that will appear in brochures to be circulated in Japan.
A German Television crew, here to film the Northern Lights, brought their cameras along to document the Block 1000 Party.
Those were the special events. Each day, especially on weekends, the castle was once again a wonderland for kids to explore. It was also a tourist attraction, with each out-of-town guest getting a free souvenir Snowking castle.
The Snowking issued a warm vote of thanks to the corporate sponsors who helped make the year a success, and gave a big salute to his web designer, Yellowknife firefighter Edward Hardy.
