Meet Sparky: The Bartz Brothers' newest snow sculpture

The snow-sculpting Bartz Brothers of New Brighton fought warm weather and record-low snowfall to bring their largest-ever snow sculpture to life this year.

A 21-foot tall seal, inspired by the Como Zoo's famous Sparky the seal, is the brothers' first snow sculpture on display at a venue other than the family front yard, where crowds outgrew the neighborhood.

Families lined up at the Brightwood Hills Golf Course in New Brighton over the weekend for a chance to meet and take a photo with the frosty pinniped. Sculptor Austin Bartz, 29, patiently snapped photos and demonstrated how Sparky could blow smoke from its mouth when a donation was made to a good cause.

Sparky is the latest in a long line of sculptures the brothers have constructed. In 2012, they spotted a pufferfish off the dock on a family trip to Florida. They came back home and decided to try reconstructing the fish with snow, and ended up with an 8-foot version that became the family's first snow sculpture. They have been carefully carving and shaping snow ever since.

This year, their work is part of Brave the BRRR, New Brighton's new winter celebration that also included a gnome search, winter farmer's market and food trucks. Since the unveiling of Sparky last Friday, he's had at least 6,000 visitors a day, Bartz estimated.

The lack of snowfall this winter led to lots of long days for the sculpting team, Bartz said. Austin and brother Connor, 25, who own a landscaping company together, worked 14-hour days to bring Sparky to life.

"Most of the snow we made with an artificial snow maker and then some of it we also trucked in from the Winter Carnival," Bartz said. "And then some we also got from local parking lots and ramps in Minneapolis."

Mary Waldschmidt and her family traveled from Randolph, Minn., south of the metro area, for a glimpse at Sparky on a sunny day Monday. They try to see the brothers' sculptures when they can, she said, and were thrilled about the new venue's accessibility.

"It's really nice to have it in the park," Waldschmidt said. "They are the most creative guys."

The snow-made seal received the "Sparky SEAL of Approval" Monday from the Como Park Zoo & Conservatory on Facebook.

Sparky takes visitors daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. until Feb. 10. Photos are free, but for a $25 donation Sparky will blow smoke. Proceeds will go to clean water efforts in Africa through World Vision once expenses are covered.