14 February 2017
13 Feb 2017
The 2017 De Beers Inspired Ice - NWT Carving Championship will once again have a local and international flavour when it takes place March 24-26 during the Long John Jamboree in Yellowknife.
Three teams from the United States are among the ten teams confirmed to date, including inaugural De Beers Inspired Ice winner Stephan Koch of Indiana in 2012. There are also three teams representing the Northwest Territories.
Yellowknife Mayor Mark Heyck said “It’s great to see De Beers making a substantial contribution to the Long John Jamboree, Yellowknife’s signature winter event.”
De Beers Head of External and Corporate Affairs Tom Ormsby said it was important for De Beers to return as the Inspired Ice Title Sponsor in 2017. “De Beers Canada has undergone a major transformation of our business over the last 18 months, which meant we also had to realign our resources to match our priorities’, said Ormsby. “Now that the Gahcho Kué Mine has completed construction and is in the final stages of reaching full production, we are in a better position to identify key community initiatives like the Long John Jamboree that we believe enhance the communities in which we operate’.
Gahcho Kué Mine General Manager Allan Rodel said the Long John Jamboree and the De Beers Inspired Ice – NWT Ice Carving Competition draws a large number of De Beers employees who live in Yellowknife and the surrounding communities. “Our employees are proud of the community investments we make here in the NWT and they often show their support by attending in person with their families and participating’, said Rodel. “As a Yellowknife resident myself, I look forward to the Jamboree and seeing the amazing ice sculptures that these incredible artists can produce, especially our local carvers’.