See ice get artistically sliced at Houston’s First Annual Magnificent Seven All Out Ice Sculpting. “Seven blocks of ice, seven hours, seven sculptors,” says Reverend Butter. The best-known Houston ice artist is hosting the competition, which features seven ice carvers from across the U.S. using chainsaws, blowtorches, hammers and chisels to create frozen masterpieces.

“The ice never seems to get lighter; each block is 300 pounds,” says Reverend Butter. Add that to the weight of pleasing an audience, which Butter says is never easy, no matter what your skill level. He says you could create a dancing lady, with intricate details down to her batting eyelashes, but still come up short if the audience isn’t interested. “[If you’re at] a children’s festival…the kids are like, ‘It doesn’t look like SpongeBob,’” he says and laughs. Judging today’s festivities will be Aerosol Warfare Gallery co-founder Gonzo257 and local art enthusiasts Lester Marks and Catherine Anspon.

The artists Butter has lined up could likely carve the whole SpongeBob cast and a eyelashed lady to boot. He says if the seven competitors are anything like him, though, they won’t make any definite decisions until they’re in front of the ice.

Butter recommends keeping an eye out for San Antonio’s Buddy Rassmussin, a 20-year veteran going up against The Vegas Ice Man.

“The Vegas Iceman is Buddy’s former apprentice — he’s coming in for the win,” says Butter. See if the student becomes the teacher when the competition kicks off at 10 a.m. Winners will be announced at 6 p.m. with an ice-carving performance by Reverend Butter set to the live sounds of local band Downfall 2012. Discovery Green, 1500 McKinney. For information, call 713-400-7336 or visit www.discoverygreen.com. Free.

Sat., Jan. 10, 10 a.m., 2009

This article appears in Jan 8-14, 2009.