Click here to watch video which looks at the construction of the nation's largest ice palace & a special "musical soup break" for the volunteers working on the project.

Jan 9, 2004/ FW/ --- Volunteers in one of the coldest places in the country, St. Paul, Minnesota, are constructing the country's largest Ice Palace.

The 75 foot high, 240-foot long structure will be unveiled at the St. Paul Winter Carnival on January 22, 2004. Dubbed the "Coolest Celebration on Earth," the event is the largest and oldest winter festival in the nation.

The Ice Palace walls were thundering on January 7 with the sounds of hundreds of drummers parading through the construction site.

A special "musical soup break" was presented to volunteers building the palace in honor of National Soup Month.

Using a ladle to conduct, famed bandleader Doc Severinsen was guest conductor of the Progresso Drum and Kettle Corps and performed the "Soup Samba" as volunteers received hot helpings of new Rich & Hearty soup.

Thousands of volunteers are braving the freezing temperatures building the palace, block by block, from ice harvested at Lake Phalen in St. Paul.

The Ice Palace has been the St. Paul Winter Carnival's internationally recognized feature attraction since 1886 and can be visited January 22 through February 7, 2004.

Visit www.2004icepalace.com.