The international festival of ice sculptures was opened in Salekhard

The opening ceremony of the international festival of ice sculptures «Polar Rhapsody» took place in the town Salekhard. The animal world of the Arctic is its theme this year.
As the director of the department of international and interregional relations of Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug Alexander Mazharov notes, active industrial development takes place in the Arctic, and the task of the government is to preserve the nature and beauty of the Arctic. He wished the participants for good luck.

Teams from the Russian towns Tarko-Salye, Salekhard, Ryazan, Khabarovsk, and also from other countries – China, Korea, Latvia and France are participating in the festival. The draw ceremony defined numbers under which the sculptors will work. All the participants presented sketches of their future works. In particular, the craftspeople from Ryazan plan to show an openwork composition, with a reindeer in the basis. It is difficult to evaluate beauty of the ice figurine presented on paper. It will be possible to evaluate it fully only when it is completed. The participants do not open their creative ideas, but they think that it will be something magical.
During a week the sculptors will create their art-works with help of different materials and tools, which they brought — saws, chisels, and even kitchen graters. Lights will be placed inside the ice figurines. They will decorate the square near the cultural and business center.
The results of the festival will be summed up on the 23rd of November. Inhabitants and guests of the regional capital will be able to see the sculptures on the next day.