The Greenbrier's Winterfest brings business to Greenbrier - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

A couple new businesses are soon coming to Greenbrier County, including a Sweet Frog and a sports bar.

And now the Greenbrier Resort and one of their Annual events is helping out the economy too, bringing more out of state people to the area. Winterfest is another event that brings business and people to Greenbrier County.

Before, during and after their stay at the four-star resort, people branch out to the surrounding areas for dining and entertainment.

The Ice Sculpture Carving Contest is Winterfests' biggest crowd-pleaser. Judge Vernon Barker explained what he looks for when giving away the prized gold medal.

"I'm looking for complex welds, I'm looking for riskiness, where it offsets. Looking like it goes one way but then goes another. And offsets the balance without falling over. And then the general design, does it work," said Contest Judge Vernon Barker.

Judge Barker told why he can't get enough of this unique winter sport.

"It's a volatile medium. It's always changing. Now a day like today, it's below freezing. They're not melting out here, which is to their benefit."

He explained his love of the challenge in carving ice as opposed to wood.

"Knowing you're doing something to ice or an ever-changing medium, it's a challenge. Everyone always ask me why don't I just carve wood? And I say to them, what's the challenge in that? It'll last longer. Well, it'll last longer here, and I've got pictures."

Frigid weather is so incredibly crucial to the sport of ice carving. Barker tells of a heartbreak at a National Competition that would have ended differently had the outside temperatures been slightly lower.

"At Nationals this past year, he carved a gold medal piece. Two judges carved it out of five, as a gold medal piece. And it crashed. And the other three judge judged it as crashed and therefore he didn't get the gold medal."

This weekend is The Greenbrier's 3rd Annual Winterfest. So far, they say the events have all been a huge success.