It's icely does it as experts prepare to show off a sparkling array of stunning hand-carved sculptures across Durham this Friday.
Popular free festival Fire & Ice Durham will be making a comeback for two days of drama, with intricate ice sculptures going on display alongside flaming beacons to light up the winter sky. From 10am this February 24, families being are invited to get out and about to explore the attractions across the city. They can view the ice works which will be making up the trail, watch live demonstrations of other works in progress and enjoy interactive displays.
Another full day of activities will follow on Saturday, February 25 - with several fresh sculptures in progress - then a festival finale, which in the past has featured fire and water jets in the Market Square, will get under way at at 6pm.
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The festival, hosted by Durham BID, always draws crowds to the city with its regular attractions including have-a-go ice carving; an ice Chocolate Block which visitors are invited to melt to access the sweet treats inside, and performances built around the ice sculptures whose theme changes every year. Previous ones have included Travelling Through Time, which showcased a frozen T-Rex, Viking longship, Stephenson's Rocket and a DeLorean time machine, inspired by the hit movie Back to the Future, and this year visitors will be able to follow a Steampunk-theme trail of Ice sculptures.
Families are encouraged to follow the Fire & Ice Trail between 10am and 4pm and it will stretch citywide, with popular locations in the past including the Cloister of Durham Cathedral, which this time will have a sculpture placed directly outside. Have-a-go ice carving will be back this year from noon until 4pm in Millennium Place while live carving demonstrations will take place between noon and 5pm in the Market Place where there also will be fire shows and 'aquabatics' - which will be revealing all on the day - between 5.15pm and 6.15pm.
Adding more drama to the festival will be a special Fire & Ice show which will have performances in Millennium Place at noon, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm. A message from tourism site This Is Durham said: "View the sculptures, watch the live demonstrations, enjoy our interactive displays and stay for the exciting finale beginning at 6pm.
"The event is free for all the family to enjoy and no booking or tickets are required." For more about Durham BID events see its Facebook page here.
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