(RIGHT) “Hot Rod 1986” by Team SnoKraft — Mike Nelson, Josh Zeis and David Swenson

Local snow sculptors Jay Ray and Team SnoKraft were awarded first and second place in the Frostival Snow Sculpture Competition, repeating their similar wins in last year’s contest.

Jay Ray won first place with his sculpture titled “Flow.” Team SnoKraft, made up of teammates Mike Nelson, Josh Zeis and David Swenson, earned the second-place award with their 14-foot-tall depiction of Hot Rod 1986, a character in the movie “Transformers.”

Ray also received the People’s Choice award. Festival-goers voted for their favorite in the frigid but sunny hours of Saturday morning. The contest, organizes annually by the Moorhead Business Association, was sponsored by Axis Clinicals.

The towering examples of frozen art are on display in Viking Ship Park.

The winning sculptors are in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, this week, where they are competing for the second time as Team North Dakota in the national snow sculpting competition that’s part of Winterfest. In 2022 the group’s sculpture was awarded third place.