PLYMOUTH, Mich. _ For Gerneil Franklin, the cold temperatures on a recent Saturday morning were "almost perfect."
The coach of the Oakland Community College ice sculpting team was out in Plymouth's Kellogg Park in below-freezing temperatures as his five-member team carved ice blocks as part of an ice carving competition at the 2018 Plymouth Ice Festival.
"And we're probably the only people that beg and pray for cold weather," Franklin said.
The low was 11 degrees Saturday morning at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, said Jordan Dale, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in White Lake.
Many of the ice sculptures Franklin's team worked on included different kinds of wildlife: a dog, salmon, a scorpion and turtles.
The most difficult part of the process, Franklin said, was "fusing," or cutting ice outside the ice block and connecting it to another piece, which earns more points. He said his team is at the festival every year.
"The favorite part is actually watching these kids get surgical with it," Franklin said. "Taking that chainsaw, just going to work. ... I get the biggest joy out of that."
John Wrobel, 69, of Canton, said he comes to the festival every year and enjoys photographing the sculptures.
"I love to come here and get different angled shots, like the sun through the back of it and whatnot," Wrobel said. "And it's just a great event. It's a little cold but, you know, the sun's out _ and so what?"
The attendance was down this morning compared to past Saturday mornings but as temperatures warmed in the afternoon it "seems to have have picked back up to a little bit above normal," festival director James Gietzen said. He didn't have a specific number for attendance.
Weather permitting, the sculptures will be available for viewing 24 hours a day and after the event, according to the festival's website.
