With the mercury falling and the winter settling in, festivals around the world mark the coming of winter and the snowy, frosty days with it. Artists create giant snow sculptures, builders construct slides, and the dark skies fill up with a burst of fireworks above the frosted beauty. To commemorate the event, we bring you some mesmerizing pictures from across the globe that capture the essence of the snowy, ice events.
Ice Castles, various locations, USA
Born out of a vision of Utah-based artist Brent Christensen, these frozen structures' creators construct them in five different locations throughout the USA once each year. One site is located in Utah, along with Minnesota and New Hampshire each hosting one. Then two locations in the state of Colorado host an ice castle each.
It takes several thousand individual icicles to build just one ice castle construction, which also comprises multiple features such as tunnels, slides, and even slot canyons. I0f you add multiple rainbow LEDs into the mix, they definitely make it seem as though you are walking through a winter wonderland. Dates fluctuate pending weather conditions, so continue to monitor their website if you decide to visit and plan accordingly to purchase your tickets ahead of time.
International Ice Sculpture Festival, Jelgava, Latvia
There are more cool ice sculptures to see on International Ice Sculpture Festival in Jelgava, a leafy city in central Latvia. The subject of this year's (7-8 February) is 'power of illusion'; subjects for prior years included 'ancient gods' and 'glorious fauna'. Other elements of this festival include a skating rink, fire performances, ice games and two stages featuring ice-sculpting demonstrations.
Winterlude, Ottawa, Canada
For Winterlude, Ottawa has enjoyed the winter since 1979. January 30-February 16 is actually two and half weeks of it, with snow slides, ice carving displays, and statues by the thousands. The particulars will probably be confirmed in January, but here are a few things that travelers can anticipate: ice sculpting and tempting sweets on Sparks Street and a full schedule of family fun on displays over at the Snowflake Kingdom. Travelers can also explore Indigenous culture at the Canadian Museum of History and rock it out in the frigid Igloo fest music festival.
World Ice Art Championships, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Felt in Fairbanks, Alaska over six weeks plus, the World Ice Art Championship draws more than 100 artists from around the country and beyond. Since 1990, artists have carved ice blocks into amazing pieces shown in a series of competitions. The 2026 event will span 16 February – 4 March. A children’s competition will take place 10-13 March.
World Snow Festival, Grindelwald, Switzerland
Celebrating frosty artwork takes place in the charming little Alpine village of Grindelwald and the Mnnlichen skiing region. The World Snow Festival, which artists from around the globe established back in the 1980s, sees them descend on the village and sculpt giant chunks of snow into bizarre and beautiful works for judges to admire. The World Snow Festival 2026 will celebrate between the 19th and 24th of January, under the theme of 'Myths and Legends.'
Snowkings' Winter Festival, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
There is the whole of March for guests to sample the fare at Snowkings Winter Festival (March 1 - 28, 2006). Based in the North American capital city of the Northwest Territories in Canada, this annual winter event relies on ice and the cold for locals of the capital to build an enormous ice palace where performances and other cultural events are held, including live music and theatre performances.
Snow Days Festival, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
The extra star here goes to this celebration's picturesque Banff National Park setting, situated alongside the shores of Lake Louise. Each year, artists will shape an ethereal winter landscape of ice sculptures – featuring a cast of characters from ice queens to woolly mammoths – while the more frosty attractions include dog-sledding, cross-country ski touring, and snowshoeing.
Kiruna Snow Festival, Kiruna, Sweden
This yearly celebration of snow, held in Swedish Lapland, the Kiruna Snow Festival (21-24 January 2006) offers a three-day fest of frosty frolics. Expect a snow sculpting competition; outdoors activities like dog-sledding and skating and a snow park to play in. Quizzes, a live music stage and a Christmas craft market await.
Dutch Ice Sculpture Festival, Zwolle, Netherlands
Not far from the small city of Zwolle (approx 50 miles/80 km east of Amsterdam), you can admire an annually appearing and sparkling spectacle of ice and snow sculptures. They create more than 500 tonnes of ice and snow and adapt the frost sculptures to lovely subjects each year. The festival runs until 8 March 2026 and opens again on 13 December.
FAQ's
1. What is the best time of day to photograph the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival?
The ideal window for capturing stunning images is during the transition from late afternoon blue hour to nighttime, typically between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM, when the natural twilight blends with the vibrant neon illumination of the ice castles.
2. Do I need a special camera to capture good photos in extreme cold?
While professional DSLRs and mirrorless cameras offer greater detail, modern smartphones equipped with night mode handle the illuminated sculptures remarkably well, provided you keep the device close to your body to preserve battery life in sub-zero temperatures.
3. Why do my photos look underexposed or too blue when shooting the snow?
Snow reflects an immense amount of ambient light, which frequently tricks camera light meters into underexposing the scene; correcting this requires dialing in a positive exposure compensation of plus 0.7 to plus 1.3 stops.
4. Can I use a drone to capture aerial images of the festival grounds?
Strict airspace regulations and heavy tourist crowds generally prohibit recreational drone usage over the main exhibition areas in Harbin, meaning photographers must rely on elevated viewing platforms and telephoto lenses for high-angle shots.
5. Where can I find free, high-resolution festival images for commercial use?
Stock photography platforms like Shutterstock, Getty Images, and Unsplash offer extensive collections of curated festival media, though you should always verify the specific licensing terms depending on whether your project is editorial or commercial.
