Photos by Brian Addison.
The Queen Mary’s inaugural Chill celebration opened this past weekend, unveiling a winter wonderland of ice skating under the backdrop of Long Beach’s iconic ship as well as the Ice Kingdom inside the Queen Mary Dome.
Undoubtedly the most impressive aspect of Chill, the Ice Kingdom, was constructed by more than 30 sculpting artisans from northern China—specifically Harbin, where the Ice Lantern Festival has become one of the most popular ice sculpting events in the world.
With 5000 450-pound blocks, these artisans constructed a visual winter wonderland that visitors can explore and meander (and even slide down two constructed ice slides). Totaling more than two million pounds of ice—ranging from clear to opaque to colored (thanks to baking food coloring)—Ice Kingdom’s landscape is kept intact by keeping the Dome chilled to 9°F.
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Chill will run through January 6 at the Queen Mary, located at 1126 Queens Highway. For tickets and more information, click here.
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