Wauwatosa man creates Coca-Cola polar bear out of snow for neighbors to enjoy

Bridget Fogarty, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Updated ·2 min read
Dave Sorenson carved the Coca-Cola polar bear out of snow on his Wauwatosa lawn during the mid-January snowstorm.
Dave Sorenson carved the Coca-Cola polar bear out of snow on his Wauwatosa lawn during the mid-January snowstorm.

Wisconsin snowstorms go better with fun.

And fun for Dave Sorenson is spending hours, sometimes days, in the cold each winter carving a larger-than-life sculpture entirely out of snow.

"It is relaxing," Sorenson said. "People seem to enjoy it and look forward to it."

Sorenson used the snow piling up on his Wauwatosa lawn during the Jan. 12 snowstorm to create the iconic Coca-Cola polar bear character. The snow sculpture at North 81st and West Wright streets has drawn attention from neighbors and people on social media, including a photo of the polar bear posted Jan. 13 on the Tosa Rocks Facebook page that has received more than 580 likes.

Sorenson's Coca-Cola polar bear lies on his back at about 8 feet long and 3 feet high with the signature red scarf draped around his neck. He holds a snowy Coca-Cola bottle in his right paw and waves his other paw in the air at neighbors and visitors in the Pasadena neighborhood.

Sorenson thought at first that he would place a beer in the bear's hand, but after thinking about dry January ― and borrowing a red scarf from his wife Kate Mullaney Sorenson ― he decided his creation could resemble one of the polar bears that appear in Coca-Cola advertisements.

Sorenson, who is a painter, diluted his acrylic paints with water and painted snow to create the bear's nose, eyes, mouth and the Coca-Cola bottle.

Dave Sorenson's snow creation of a polar bear holding a Coca-Cola bottle waves at neighbors in his Wauwatosa neighborhood.
Dave Sorenson's snow creation of a polar bear holding a Coca-Cola bottle waves at neighbors in his Wauwatosa neighborhood.

"I wasn't even sure how that would work especially since it's 0 degrees outside, but it worked out," he said.

Sorenson has been creating snowy sculptures since his kids were little, he said. Now that they're grown up, he's continued the tradition for neighborhood kids, and adults, to enjoy.

"In January, February, what else is going on?" Sorenson said. "Everyone's hunkered down, so it's kind of fun. People get out and have something to talk about, so I enjoy it."

The first year in the Wauwatosa neighborhood in 2019, Sorenson decided to create a fire hydrant snow sculpture on the corner, "which is where all the local puppies seemed to stop and pee on our property," according to Mullaney Sorenson.

Dave Sorenson's first snow sculpture on his street in Wauwatosa was a fire hydrant on the corner in 2019.
Dave Sorenson's first snow sculpture on his street in Wauwatosa was a fire hydrant on the corner in 2019.

"All the dog lovers loved it," she said.

The next year, when piles of snow left no place for dogs to go to the bathroom, Sorenson sculpted a dog out of snow and an opening in their yard that invited neighborhood pups to stop to do their business.

Dave Sorenson sculpted a dog a couple years ago out of snow and created an opening in his yard for neighborhood dogs looking to stop for the bathroom.
Dave Sorenson sculpted a dog a couple years ago out of snow and created an opening in his yard for neighborhood dogs looking to stop for the bathroom.

While the polar bear took him an afternoon to create, the 6-foot-tall Abraham Lincoln he sculpted last winter took him three days. That snowy president got attention from neighbors and local media.

"I'm kind of amazed that they attract this much attention," Sorenson said. "Especially this year, I thought I had toned it way back," he said.

Contact reporter Bridget Fogarty at bfogarty@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wauwatosa man carves a Coca-Cola polar bear out of snow during storm