Many of the details for the Weyburn Scouts' ambitious ice castle and skating park, Princess Aurora's Playground, are coming together in spite of the warm weather through much of November.

Project manager Derrick Mooney said the weather has delayed the opening day for the ice playground, but adds, "That's not really a problem. It gives us more time to be prepared and just shortens the number of days we will be able to be open."

The Princess Aurora's Playground project is a fund-raising event set to open in January of 2006, with all proceeds to go towards Scouts Canada programs in Weyburn and area.

The project will have two attractions in one, the first being a large ice skating park surrounded by clear ice walls. This park will feature four tiers or levels for children, teens and adults.

Mooney said the ice-harvesting process will determine the size and detail of the playground. Music for ages will be played over a 10,000-watt sound system for the skaters' enjoyment.

The second part is an ice castle, the Crystal Palace, which will house a "rolling drama" about Princess Aurora in a castle setting. The ice castle will have rooms with furnishings, ornaments and sculptures made out of ice, and those visiting the castle will be taken on a guided tour of the castle, with the actors interacting with the visitors as they move from room to room.

The Scouts will be relying on local talent for the drama portion of the production, with a casting call yet to be made for actors.

In the meantime, the call for volunteers has given the Scouts as many as 200 people who have committed to given them one six-hour work day each. Six clubs and organizations have volunteered, including the Young Fellows Club, Kinsmen, Knights of Columbus, Lions, SaskTel Pioneers and Katimavik.

"Our Scout leaders and parents have the resources to run the event once it is open, but we don't have anywhere near what is needed to harvest the ice and build the structures on time. We can't possibly do the work without the support of these generous organizations," said Mooney, adding there are still some spaces available for volunteers if they wish to help. To volunteer, or to get information about the drama part of the project, send an e-mail to icecastle@sasktel.net.

Once ice on Nickle Lake reaches one foot thick or 30 centimetres, the harvesting will begin. The group will use chainsaws mounted on specially constructed saw sleds that will hold the saw blades straight; these are being put together by Ken and Joanne Miller and their crew at M&R Machines of Weyburn, with the first prototype to hopefully be ready for testing in early to mid-December.

Old-fashioned "shadouf" cranes are being put together by Chip 9 Machining of Weyburn, which will safely remove the ice blocks from open water at -20. These cranes are designed on counter-balanced cranes used in Africa and the Middle East to get water out of deep wells. Andy Shanaida of Chip 9 hopes to have a prototype ready by mid-December.

One problem hasn't been solved as yet, namely how to transport blocks of ice from Nickle Lake to the exhibition grounds where the ice park will be constructed. Mooney estimates some 17,000 blocks of ice will need to be moved, requiring some 800 pallets; some have been found through the Co-op feed mill and a grocery store, but the group needs about 650 more pallets to do the job.