APPLETON, Wis. (WFRV) – A person has turned themselves in after allegedly destroying an ice sculpture in downtown Appleton over the weekend.
That sculpture was part of downtown Appleton’s annual ‘Avenue of Ice Carvings’ display on College Avenue. Local companies and organizations can sponsor an ice sculpture and choose a design that fits within the theme. This year, the theme for the ice sculptures is ‘What We Love About Wisconsin.’
Officials with a Kaukauna-based nonprofit called the Center for Suicide Awareness said that early Sunday morning, somebody picked up the platform that their sculpture sat on and threw it to the ground, destroying it.
“I think we were just heartbroken,” the nonprofit’s founder and executive director, Barb Bigalke, told Local 5 News.
Bigalke had their ice sculpture designed as two hands coming together in the shape of a heart. She said it had a very special message.
“People do care, even if you feel alone,” she explained. “I feel loved, I feel seen, I feel not alone, and that of course plays right into our mission. We don’t ever want anybody to feel like they’re alone.”
Packers continue to crack down on season ticket holders who repeatedly resell their tickets
Appleton police posted on their Facebook page that somebody turned themselves in on Monday afternoon. The police had previously posted pictures of a person of interest related to the damage to the ice sculpture.
Bigalke said she’s not angry with the person who destroyed the ice sculpture.
“So what we were more concerned with when this person was walking by were they hurting, were they struggling, were they going through a break up and that triggered them,” she said. “We were more concerned about how they are doing in their mental health struggle.”
The artists who made the ice sculptor, Krystal Kleer Ice Sculptures, LLC, are in the process of trying to repair it. They tried to make the repairs on site, but decided that the damage was too extensive and took the broken sculpture to their shop.
Bigalke said the community support over the last 24 hours has been tremendous. She said she’s been especially moved by the comments they’ve received on Facebook from people sharing what the sculpture and its message have meant to them.
“Literally, we got wrapped up in love, which was exactly what our sculpture was about,” she said. “So even in its pieces it accomplished our whole message of we love people.”
She also said that the person who did this is welcome to come to their center and talk or get help if they need it.
Green Bay’s Badger State Brewing holds new speed puzzle competition
In a statement on their Facebook page, Appleton Downtown Inc. officials acknowledged that the vandalism occurred, saying they’re “incredibly disappointed by this act and sincerely apologize to the Center for Suicide Awareness and to our community.”
They also said in the statement that they will make a donation to the Center for Suicide Awareness.
An official with the Appleton Police Department told Local 5 News that they haven’t decided if they will recommend charges to the district attorney’s office for the ice sculpture vandalism.
