(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Wintertime magic continues in Cripple Creek, the Ice Festival now in full swing, with organizers extending the dates for the week of Feb. 17.

Artists are going all out this year creating these massive ice sculptures.

“Last year we pulled third place, and the first year we did it, we polled second place. This year, we hope we win,” said Kenny Rathbun one of the ice sculptors.

Things are getting icy up in Cripple Creek, with six teams competing for the winning title.

“We weld using squirt guns and water and just the freeze, the ice freezes and welds itself together. It’s really fun to work with, it’s soft and it’s got a lot of different tools we get to use. Here’s my pickle fork,” said Rathbun.

Each block of ice weighs 400 pounds, and each piece is carefully converted into a design using unique tools to create things like robots, doves, and Disney characters. The sculptors say they import the ice from Ohio.

“It’s a lot cheaper than buying food-grade ice, which is all we have available here in Colorado,” said Rathbun.

Hundreds of people attended the event, with one family flying all the way from Louisiana to see the unique ice sculptures.

“For my son, we don’t give him gifts at Christmas, we give him a trip, and this year was Colorado, he doesn’t get to see the snow,” said Heather Dampier.

The event also attracts hundreds of vendors from around the state.

Dampier’s son Landon, says his favorite sculpture was the dragon, “like the mouth is just defying gravity and the wings, it’s just defying gravity,” he said.

But for his mom, it was the Disney characters, “The Disney one was my absolute favorite. The details were immaculate.”

Watching the sculptors working on each piece is another big highlight of the event, and thanks to the cold weather and popularity of the event, it will now run until Sunday, Feb. 23.

Carving teams will also be doing their best to win the People’s Choice Award for a huge cash prize.