In west Edmonton’s Laurier Heights neighbourhood, a colourful cabin made of ice is turning heads — and this isn’t the first time he’s gotten creative like this either.
“Three years ago I did an igloo and we decided — my son decided — we wanted to do it again. So we decided on a cabin-type structure that would look like a gingerbread house,” said Tyler Gamblin.
It took Gamblin and his family all of December to build — more than 50 hours of work.
They filled Tupperware containers with water, put in food colouring and let them freeze, using about 2,000 litres of water to make 654 blocks.
They also upped the engineering of the ice structure.
It took 654 blocks to make the ice cabin.
Courtesy / Tyler Gamblin
“This year it actually has a truss underneath, so it’s a bit safer,” Gamblin explained.
The ice cabin has been a big hit — not just for Gamblin’s kids, but the whole neighbourhood.
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“A lot of slowdowns as people go by. It’s brought the community together, it’s been uplifting for everybody and neighbours have helped me with it.”
When Gamblin did this the first time, he slept in it for five nights to raise money for MS research.
“We raised $25,000,” he said.
“This time I built it for fun — but it’s turned into a little bit of something again.”
Now the goal is to raise $10,000 for Free Play for Kids.
There’s signs out front with a QR code making it easy to donate.
The house is located at 14508-86 Ave. and anyone is welcome to visit, but Gamblin says with a mild week in store, you might want to come sooner rather than later.
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