Just as it was promised, the Blaze Ice Man was "Ultimate Cool."

New to this year's Blaze, ice sculptor Chad Hartson of Ice Creations, from Napoleon, was the lead act to one of the highest attended Blaze of Lights in the 25-year history of the event.

Hartson is one of America's leading sculptors with national and international recognition. Working with a block of ice 40 by 20 by 10 inches kept the attention of the crowd for 45 minutes as he created a toy soldier from his large ice cube.

Here are some photos and a short video of the artist at work.