GR ice sculptors set for Food Network

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Movies aren't the only entertainment venture being produced in West Michigan. A reality show about Grand Rapids ice sculptors will premiere in March on The Food Network.

Ice Brigade will feature the art of six people who work at Ice Sculptures Ltd. Production began shortly before Thanksgiving and will continue for a few more weeks.

Friday, the ice sculptors put the finishing touches on a piece in front of DeVos Place while cameras rolled.

"It's always been out there, but it is getting more attention now which is great," said Ice Sculptures Ltd co-owner Derek Maxfield. "It's great for business, it's great for the whole industry and the art."

The Food Network is also betting it's great TV. Maxfield and his partner, Randy Finch, are both trained chefs who traded in their aprons for chisels.

After they appeared on a few segments of other shows, they got the call from the Food Network.

"We are very, very lucky and we are working very, very hard to make sure that it all goes off without a hitch, and there have been some challenges," Finch said. "We are just thrilled that it is the Food Network. We have always wanted our own show but the Food Network -- that's the brass ring."

But it was a certain something that caught the attention of the show's producer.

"We wouldn't be here if these guys weren't characters," said Food Network supervising producer Brian Cavallaro . "They are six of the most interesting people I have ever met. It just so happens that they carve ice really really well."

A crew of 15 captures the daily operations of the six members for Ice Brigade. Filming continues this weekend at the Rockford Ice Festival on Saturday. Among the attractions is an 18-hole miniature golf course, all made of ice.

Then, on Tuesday, the sculptors and the cameras will create a giant chess board and chess pieces - each three feet high - and place it at Rosa Parks Circle. As the chess game is played and pieces captured, they'll be smashed to bits.

On the Net:

Ice Sculpture Ltd.

Rockford Ice Festival in 2010