'I'm going to continue to do it': Man undeterred after vandal attempts to destroy snow sculptures
Jared Clark loves to brighten his east London, Ont. neighbourhood with life-sized snow sculptures in the winter — and despite surveillance footage that recently depicted a real-life Grinch attempting to destroy the sculptures, Clark remains undeterred.
Jared Clark started creating snow sculptures at his Brisbin Street home nearly three years ago at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has since become a passion project.
“It started bringing so much joy to the community, and just seeing people light up, and their kids,” Clark told CTV News London’s Jim Knight on Tuesday.
For example, Carson Dawdy and his daughter Danica are big fans of Clark’s work.
“Oh we love them in the neighborhood!” said Dawdy. “The kids love going up to them, and touching them, and seeing them. It’s a lot of hard work that went into them, so it’s nice to see.”
Clark explained that when he wakes up in the morning he typically goes to check on his snow sculptures. But when he woke up one morning recently to check on his three snow dog sculptures, he noticed something odd.
Surveillance footage depicts a man punch and kick snow sculptures on Brisbin Street in London, Ont. in January 2023. (Source: Jared Clark)
“There was some snow in the one eye, and one dog was missing his eye,” he said. “So I decided to look into it a little bit further and lo and behold, the camera footage caught it all.”
The security footage revealed that overnight a man had approached Clark’s snow sculptures and proceed to punch and kick them repeatedly. But despite the act of vandalism, Clark wasn’t as upset as you might expect him to be.
“I kind of stopped laughing after watching the footage, but, payback was [kind of] given,” he said. “The dogs gave a little bit of bite, and it was pretty fun.”
Clark said it can take between three to five hours to build his sculptures, while the most elaborate ones can take upwards of 12 to 24 hours to complete.
Still, he remains determined in his mission to brighten his neighborhood.
“It’s unfortunate that it happened, but I’m going to continue to do it and make sure that I make people happy, and I’ll do it every year as much as I can as long as we have snow,” said Clark.
— With files from CTV News London’s Jim Knight
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.