What can be more amazing than seeing marvelous icy masterpieces from different parts of the world? eGetinnz lists five fascinating ice and snow festivals that you must see.
BP World Ice Art Championships (Alaska, USA)
The BP World Ice Art Championships is an annual ice-sculpting contest held in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA. More than 100 sculpting teams from different countries around the world participate in the two-events of this contest: the Single Block Classic and the Multi-Block Classic.
Amateur ice sculptors can also work side by side with the experts in the Fairbanks Open, the part of the competition that is not judged.
The Kids Park is also a top crowd-drawer at this event. It is a playground made entirely from ice. It has rides, slides, mazes and other fun stuff for the whole family.
Ice on Whyte Festival (Alberta, Canada)
The Ice on Whyte Festival is an outdoor winter festival celebrated annually in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It features ice and snow exhibits for everyone to see, an interactive play area for the little ones, and a giant ice slide for the kids and the kids at heart.
One of the main highlights of the festival is the International Ice Carving Competition. This year, ten competing teams will showcase their ice carving talents by creating captivating masterpieces.
The Ice on Whyte Festival will run from January 26-February 5, 2017.
Sapporo Snow (Hokkaido, Japan)
In 1950, local high school students exhibited six snow statues at Odori Park, which drew in a large crowd of spectators. This marked the beginning of the Sapporo Snow Festival in Hokkaido, Japan, which attracts millions of guests each year.
For this year’s Sapporo Snow Festival, ice and snow sculptures will be featured in three different sites on the following dates: Odori Site and Susukino Site (February 6-12, 2017) and Tsudome Site (February 1-12, 2017).
Ice and snow sculptures will be displayed at the Odori site, giant snow slides can be seen at the Tsudome site, while the ice sculpture contest will be held at the Susukino site.
Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival (Harbin, China)
What started out as a traditional ice lantern show and garden party in 1963 has now become the biggest ice and snow festival in the world. The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival is a month-long celebration that starts on January 5.
The two important exhibition areas of this festival are the Sun Island, where big snow sculptures are found, and the Ice and Snow World, which features full-sized buildings made from huge blocks of ice.
Ice Music Festival (Geilo, Norway)
The Ice Music Festival in Norway is a one-of-a-kind musical event where all instruments used in the concert are sculpted from ice hours before the actual stage performance.
The festival, founded by Terje Isungset and Pål Knutsson Medhus, is a tribute to art and the environment. It is held on the first full moon of the year.
