BOSTON — North Shore artist Don Chapelle of Brilliant Ice Sculpture in North Andover will be carving an ice sculpture depicting critically endangered sea turtles on Sunday, Dec. 29, at the New England Aquarium’s Aquarium’s Central Wharf Plaza.
The live demonstration (weather permitting) comes as nearly 500 endangered sea turtles have received rehabilitative care at the New England Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital after being rescued from Cape Cod.
The sculpture, which depicts the species representing the majority of turtles treated in the Sea Turtle Hospital in Quincy, will be part of Boston Harbor Now’s annual Waterfront Ice Sculpture Stroll on New Year’s Eve. The sculpture will be formed out of 35 blocks of ice weighing 10,500 pounds to create a 14-foot-wide by 8-foot-tall work of art.
For 18 years, Chapelle has been creating massive ice sculptures for the aquarium, including North Atlantic right whales, sharks, penguins, sea lions, octopuses, and more. This year, he pays tribute to the endangered sea turtles that receive extensive, intensive, and lengthy care by aquarium staff.
Each fall and early winter, hundreds of cold-stunned sea turtles wash up on the beaches of Cape Cod and are rescued by staff and volunteers from Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. Because of rapidly changing water temperatures and wind patterns, many turtles cannot escape the hook-like area of Cape Cod Bay and become hypothermic. They are then transported to the Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital for care. Most of the sea turtles that strand each year are Kemp’s ridleys, a critically endangered species that faces threats including fisheries interactions, climate change, ocean pollution, and degradation of their habitats, according to aquarium staff.
Chapelle began this year’s ice sculpture in his studio in North Andover. Using powerful and highly accurate ice sculpting tools, he makes intricate designs in pieces of ice. Chapelle stores these pieces in a freezer in his studio that gets down to 12 to 15 degrees before delivering them to the Aquarium, where he assembles the work of art and finishes his carving.
“It’s a joy every year to create iconic species that the New England Aquarium has devoted its energy and time toward saving and protecting,” Chapelle said. “Year after year, visitors delight in seeing us sculpt them in ice.”
The public is invited to celebrate New Year’s Eve on Boston’s waterfront. The aquarium is one of more than 30 locations participating in the free Waterfront Ice Sculpture Stroll on Dec. 31, from 1 to 5 p.m. Visitors can view the interactive map and learn more about participating companies and organizations at bostonharbornow.org/nye.
The New England Aquarium is a nonprofit research and conservation organization that has protected and cared for our ocean and marine animals for more than 50 years.