For those in the know, both names sounds familiar. But let me enlighten you, just in case. Icestock is, of course, the Antarctic version of Woodstock (oh yeah, that one!). Freezing Man might be a little more obscure. Every summer in the high desert of Arizona there is a music/free spirit festival called Burning Man. There they burn a giant effigy of a man, dress in wild costumes and listen to live music. Here at McMurdo, we froze a slightly smaller effigy of a man, dressed in wild costumes, and watched dances performances, as well as danced ourselves.
Icestock was on January 2nd (the day that the station celebrated the New year). Since everyone was at the show instead of stuffing their faces in the kitchen, we galley folk had very little work to do and got a few hours off to go see things! It was held outdoors and the weather was beautiful! There were people in costume, face-painters (I got my bald head painted), people selling wares they had made, and of course, a large stage from which many musicians played. After the outdoor part of the festival was over (about 7:00 pm) things moved into the bars, with acoustic and electric shows, depending on where one went.
Freezing Man was two days ago! It was held inside the "Big Gym" (not as big as you think...about the size of a basketball court-no bleachers). It was lit by black light, and even more people were in costume for this one! There were a few stage performances, including belly dancing, a play, and some badass break dancing (done by my roomie).
So! It may be cold here, it may be isolated, there may only be 1000 of us here! But we still like to celebrate the summer season just like everyone else :)
From Freezing Man.
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