Winter Carnival kicks off

Gallery: Royalty from the La Crosse Oktoberfest was tossed into the air by members of the St. Paul Bouncing Team in Rice Park Thursday night.

Gallery: Adam Scholljegerdes of Waterville shaped a tree limb made from ice with a small chainsaw while Derek Pasley of St. Paul helped hold it up. They were carving in the multi-block competition that began on Thursday.

Gallery: The heated metal is used to melt two pieces of ice and gives them perfectly parallel surfaces to join together.

Gallery: John Raak of St. Paul removed ice with a sanding drum from the owl he was carving in the multi-block competition that began on Thursday. He and three other carvers have until Saturday at noon to finish a creation they're calling "Icechanted Garden." "It's a marathon," he said. "We won't be sleeping much before noon on Saturday." An amateur, he's been carving sculptures for 43 years.

Gallery: A portion of an ice sculpture in progress Thursday evening in Rice Park.

Gallery: Larry Malmgren, aka Duke Klinker from the 1999 Vulcan Krewe, held a torch in Rice Park during the kick off ceremony.

Gallery: The Carnival Twins, as they are known, Jane Lonergan, left, and Joan Kelly, marched with other revelers in the Moon Glow Parade Thursdsay night to Rice Park.

Gallery: The sculpture in the fountain in Rice Park wore a pine wreath Thursday evening.