A snow gun and crew from Afton Alps set up in downtown Stillwater on Wednesday morning to conjure a blizzard of manmade snow just in time to save the world snow sculpting championships planned for next week.

A dozen teams from around the world will arrive Jan. 17 for the third annual competition, an event expected to draw 50,000 people or more to downtown Stillwater over five days. As long as there's something to sculpt.

"It was keeping me awake, that's for sure," said Robin Anthony-Evenson, president of the Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce and one of the event organizers. The Afton Alps crew is donating their time and the use of the snow gun, she said.

The low temperatures expected for the next few nights should help the crews blow enough snow for the sculptures in the Lowell Park area along the St. Croix River and still have enough to make a snow slide nearby for visitors.

The snow sculpting competition was hatched at a brainstorming session after the pandemic hit in 2020, shutting down Stillwater's tourism industry. Mayor Ted Kozlowski, the Chamber of Commerce, city staff and locals looked for ways to help downtown businesses stay open, and partnered with the organizers of a snow sculpting event in Lake Geneva, Wis. This year's teams hail from Mexico, Ecuador, Canada, Finland, France, Wales, the United States and Turkey.

Anthony-Evenson said she still needs volunteers for Saturday and Sunday events. At least they'll have sub-freezing temps.

"Mother Nature came through for us," she said.