Dubuque Resident to Be Featured in New Disney+ Holiday Special
If you're looking for some holiday fare to stream during this festive season, consider pressing play on an upcoming Disney+ special, which features a Dubuque resident!
Per the Telegraph Herald, Rachel Spurling, a 2018 graduate of Clarke University and professional snow sculptor, is set to appear on Best in Snow, a holiday special exclusive to Disney+. The 90-minute special is set to premiere on the streaming service on Friday, November 18th!
Per Disney+'s website, Best is Snow is a holiday competition that revolves around people attempting to make eye-popping and downright unbelievable creations out of snow:
"Best in Snow" is a festive holiday special, hosted by Tituss Burgess, featuring teams from around the world transported to a magical snowy village, Snowdome, and thrown into a spirited competition to compete for the title of Best in Snow. With the help of Snowdome’s finest carvers, teams will transform their ten-foot, twenty-ton blocks of snow into beautiful creations inspired by Pixar, Marvel, Walt Disney Animation, Walt Disney Studios, and The Muppets Studios.
Also listed in the cast: special guest star Kermit the Frog, who appears in the trailer, giddy to help with the sculpting process!
As for Dubuque's-star-to-be, Rachel Spurling has been sculpting for several years. She was recruited to participate in Dubuque's 2019 Winter Arts Snow Sculpting Festival, which is where she honed her craft. Spurling was a fine arts major at Clarke with an emphasis in sculpture, but never worked with snow until that festival.
Now, her skills have catapulted her on a huge special just in time for the holidays. Spurling was approached by a Disney+ talent scout at a national competition in Lake Geneva, WI. After the yearlong interview process, Disney confirmed to Spurling that she'd be appearing in the special!
Earlier this year, the participants for Best in Snow traveled out to Keystone, CO for a week of filming. The competition, hosted by Tituss Burgess, features five teams of six members. Four members of the team are novice sculptors while two are professionals. Inside a makeshift "Snowdome," the crews are tasked with bringing iconic Disney, Pixar, and Muppet characters to life using snow.
Directed by Sam Wrench, Best in Snow premieres November 18th, 2022, exclusively on Disney+!
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