The 24th International Ice Sculpture Festival will occur in three places in Jelgava - Jānis Čakste Boulevard, Pasta Island and the open-air concert hall "Mītava" from the 3rd to the 5th of February. This year, a total of 32 professional sculptors from 12 countries will create art pieces while revealing their unique perspectives on the ancient deities as well as their importance in different cultures. Within the framework of the festival, in less than a week, 45 competition sculptures will be created and in total, more than 60 ice objects will be on display.
In search of new ideas and solutions, the jury of the "24th International Ice Sculpture Festival’s" sketch competition selected 30 artists with the best ideas and designs, who will demonstrate their skills in the upcoming ice sculpture competition held in Jelgava.
Artists from a record number of countries have been selected for the competition. Sculptors from 12 countries - Indonesia, Mongolia, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Finland, Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia - will create 45 competition ice sculptures. In total, 30 individual and 15 team sculptures will be on display during the festival. The contest sculptures will also be complemented by large-format ice photo objects made by prominent sculptor Kārlis Īle. Participants will begin their work on creating ice sculptures on January 30th and will continue until February 3rd.
Visitors are welcome to get to know the ancient deities from the 4th to the 5th of February at Pasta Island, J. Čakste Boulevard and the open-air concert hall "Mītava". On February 3rd the official festival opening ceremony will be held and the competition winners will be awarded. Later on music group RĪGAS MODES and rapper OZOLS will perform. The event area will be open from 6 to 10 PM.
On February 4th and 5th, entrance to the festival will be possible from 10 AM to 10 PM. In the first half of the day, ĀDOLFA ALUNĀNA JELGAVA THEATER, the creative association TEĀTRIS UN ES, PASAKU NAMS, as well as the JELGAVAS JAUNAIS THEATER will offer theatrical performances for children. Visitors will be able to observe how ice transforms into an actual work of art in exciting ice-sculpting duels. However, in the evenings, Lithuanian and Latvian musicians - BIG AL & THE JOKERS, THE ROOP, PĒRKONS and BERMUDU DIVSTŪRIS - will take the stage.
Tickets are available at "Biļešu Paradīze" ticket offices throughout Latvia, as well as on the website bilesuparadize.lv. Cheaper in pre-sale until February 2nd! The International Ice Sculpture Festival is organized by the city of Jelgava and the institution "Kultūra", supported by the companies "Ramirent" and "Husqvarna".