7 super-chilled ice festivals
24th December 2011
Looking for something really cool to do this winter? These festivals are guaranteed to have you shivering with excitement
1. Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival
Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
5 January – 5 February 2012
Chilled by wind whistling down from Siberia, this city in north-eastern China hosts the biggest ice festival in the world. Sculptors have been battling with each other since 1963 to create the largest and most outlandish ice art on the planet.
Blocks of ice are carved from the Songhua River before ice sculptors from all over the world set to work with picks, chisels and saws to create larger than life buildings, animals, mythical creatures and abstract objects. Officially the festival starts on 5 January and lasts for a month but, weather permitting, it often opens earlier and stays longer.
Most sculptures are illuminated by lasers, although some still employ traditional lanterns. But one thing is certain, there is nothing that can't be made out of ice, even a moment in history. Crossing the Berring Strait, commemorating the migration of the first nations, secured a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest ever snow sculpture. It was a staggering 250 metres long.
Official website
2. Sapporo Snow Festival
Sapporo, Japan
6-12 February 2012
If the ice sculptures of Harbin are big and brash, those that line the squares of Sapporo display a more refined artistry. For seven days in February, the city becomes a winter dreamland of crystal-like ice and white snow.
From humble beginnings in 1950, when six local high school students built six snow statues in Odori Park, the festival now boasts a number of 'gallery' sites and hosts over 2 million visitors each year. The city also has a Snow Festival Museum that displays historical material and media from past festivals.
Expect the unexpected. At the Suskino Site, sculptures have been known to include real crabs, squid and salmon in their displays!
Official Website
3. Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival
Hwacheon County, South Korea
7-29 January 2012
As dictated by tradition, there are ice sculptures at this festival in a remote corner of South Korea. But to be honest, most of the one million visitors are too busy fishing like Eskimos to pay much attention.
Visitors cut a hole in the thick ice covering the Bukhangang River and try their luck snagging a trout swimming in the clear waters underneath. Special prizes are given to those who use their bare hands. A series of cultural events are held to keep visitors entertained while they wait for a hole to become free.
And don't worry, you won't miss out on catching a fish. Three tons of fresh Sancheoneo (trout) are released in the river every day of the festival.
Official Website
4. Ice Wonderland Sculpture Festival
Bruges, Belgium
25 November, 2011 – 15 January, 2012
Western Europe may be too mild to host an outdoor ice sculpture festival, but that hasn't stopped the good folk of Bruges whacking up a thermal tent on Station Square and holding one in there.
Each year artists from around the world are invited to create themed works full of 'emotion and adventure'. This year, they were asked to capture the magic of Christmas at Disneyland Paris!
The official festival website says it's a 'surprise-packed voyage of discovery in the fantastic world of snow and ice' and promises a heart-warming glass “in the rocks” at the ice bar. It would need to be something strong to counter the sight of yet another larger-than-life sized ice Mickey Mouse.
Official Website
5. Ice Music Festival
Geilo, Norway
3-5 February 2012
You won't find giant swans with intertwined necks at this ice festival. The sculptors here are too busy crafting a variety of musical instruments that must not only look good, but hold a tune as well.
Musicians from all corners of the globe gather midway between Oslo and Bergen on the first full moon of the year in 'an ovation to nature.' From guitars and violins to harps and drums – all are made of local ice. The quality of the ice differs from winter to winter, and the sounds made by the instrument vary depending on the temperature. Each concert is unique.
Concerts take place outdoors or in specially constructed igloos. The program includes music, meditation, ice sculpting, ice acrobatics, and other forms of artistic expression.
Don't forget your gloves. You can be sure the musicians won't.
Official Website
6. Southfork Ice Festival
Cody, Wyoming, USA
17-21 February 2012
Billed as the 'friendliest little ice festival in the northern Rockies,' Southfork Ice Festival is in fact one of the world's few waterfall ice festivals.
Events, funnily enough, focus around a waterfall on the edge of town that freezes up each winter. Every President's Day weekend climbers gather to scale it. A whole side-show of events are scheduled to keep everyone else entertained and a local micro-brewery sets up on site to help keep things interesting.
Official Website
7. London Ice Sculpting Festival
London, England
13-14 January 2012
Situated alongside Canary Wharf tube station – and completely free – the London Ice Sculpting Festival has to be one of the most convenient ice festivals in the world.
Eight teams from around the world compete over two days to create the most artistic and unusual works. To coincide with the London Olympics, the 2012 theme is 'team spirit.'
There are ice sculpting classes for those who want to try their hand at carving out a frozen masterpiece. Montgomery Square will be turned into a snow pit for the kids to make snowmen or snow-castles, whatever the weather, with real snow.
Official website
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