CAMDEN — The town of Camden is preparing for another sparkling and dazzling week of Winterfest activities. The week kicks off with shimmering ice-carving in the Amphitheatre and brilliant snow sculptures scattered throughout town on Saturday, Jan. 30.

The Camden Public Library hosts the annual Community Ice Carving in the Amphitheatre on the afternoon of Jan. 30, and is seeking individuals and community groups who would like to try ice carving.

"It's surprisingly easy with the right tools," said master carver Tim Pierce, in a news release. "The ice is extremely fragile, but extremely strong, it's soft to carve, but doesn't last very long."

Pierce will give an ice-carving demonstration in advance of the Community Ice Carving; the demo will be on Sunday, Jan. 17, at 1 p.m., outdoors in front of the library.

Anyone interested in joining the ice carvers should fill out an application, available online and at the Camden Public Library. The cost of the application is $60 to pay for the ice block. The specialized ice-carving picks will be available to all teams, and participants are welcome to bring their own tools, although chain saws are not allowed.

Click here to download the application

Your medium will be a 300-pound block of clear ice, measuring 10" x 20" x 40".

Pierce will serve as consultant for all carving designs before the festival, providing advice on whether your design would work in the medium of ice. Then, on Winterfest morn, he and his colleagues will rough out your pattern into your ice block in preparation for your carving during the Winterfest.

There will be live music and kids crafts indoors at the library during the Community Ice Carving, and more music and hot food outdoors, as well as the ice carving in the Amphitheatre. There will also be a CamJam snowboard event and a Polar Plunge in Harbor Park on Jan. 30, all part of the kickoff to Winterfest. And on the Village Green, Camden hosts the state's only sanctioned Snow Carving competition.

There will be a week full of community events including concerts, movies, a snowplow parade, and Mardi-Gras style dancing.

The schedule will include daily events during Winterfest, starting with the Ice Carving, Snow Sculptures, CamJam, and Polar Plunge, as well as an evening ski movie in the Camden Opera House, on Jan. 30.

Snow Sculpting continues on Sunday, and the Frost Heave challenge kicks in hosted by local restaurants and bars.

Tuesday is Groundhog Day, and the Camden Public Library will host a free showing of the movie Groundhog Day.

Wednesday evening, the Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers will perform Everybody Loves Pirates at the Camden Opera House at 6 p.m.

Thursday will be the Mardi Gras Concert at the Camden Opera House featuring the Dolphin Strykers and headliner C.J. Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band.

Friday features the kickoff of the US National Toboggan Championships at the Snow Bowl, with the Snow Plow and Mardi Gras Parade through town in the evening followed by fireworks over the Harbor.

On Saturday, the Toboggan Nationals continue, and there will be a movie at the Opera House, a Mardi Gras block party and dance downtown, along with the Frost Heave Challenge finale.

On Sunday, Winterfest finally wraps up with the finals of the U.S. National Toboggan Championships at the Snow Bowl.

Camden Winterfest 2016 is Maine's Mardi Gras, organizers said.

It's a weeklong celebration of winter with outdoor and indoor activities, beginning with ice carving and snow sculpting and culminating with the Toboggan Nationals and a celebratory dance, all with a Maine Mardi Gras festive theme.

From the opening celebration in the Amphitheatre to the closing victory celebration at the Toboggan Nationals, Camden Winterfest is a lively winter phenomenon for families, visitors, and teammates. Winterfest builds on the traditions of the ice-carving Winterfest celebration begun fourteen years ago and the Toboggan Nationals that began more than 25 years ago on the restored toboggan chute at the Snow Bowl.