Ice and Fire in Durham festival to see sculptures and beacons adorn city streets

Visitors to the city next week can enjoy the first Fire and Ice In Durham festival, which will be staged throughout the half- term week.

Hosted by Durham BID, the fire and ice-themed festival will see the city centre adorned with ice sculptures and fire beacons, as well as street entertainers, workshops and a special grand finale event.

Inspired by the exploration of the North and South Poles, the week-long event offers a variety of fire and ice-themed activities, displays and entertainment suitable for the whole family.

Business engagement manager of Durham BID, Adam Deathe, said: “Durham and the North East’s associations with the poles are really incredible and so worth celebrating as part of the festival. Both local scientists and explorers have contributed to our understanding of these vast regions and it’s fantastic to be able to demonstrate this in an exciting format for everyone to enjoy.

“We’re excited for visitors to the city to experience something really amazing and dramatic. With so many different activities and things to see and do, we’re thrilled to welcome people living close by and those from further afield to experience something truly spectacular. The festival is set to be a dramatic addition to Durham’s growing list of renowned events.”

Highlights include free pop-up workshops offered in the Market Place between 10am to 4pm. Visitors can also try their hand at ice-carving between noon and 4pm on Friday.

Live ice carving will be taking place on Saturday, February 20 between noon and 4pm, for anyone wishing to see how the experts create their frozen masterpieces.

Also on Friday and Saturday, street entertainers are set to wow spectators with fiery tricks and performances around a specially-created Fire and Ice trail. The trail takes a path around Durham City, allowing visitors to experience ten hand-carved ice sculptures and fire beacons.

The ice sculptures are created using traditional techniques by the leading ice artists at Glacial Art, international ice sculpture champions, as well as creators of ice sets for the popular TV series, Games of Thrones.

The finale event will take place at 5.30pm in Durham Market Place on the Friday and Saturday evening. Visitors can expect a multimedia show featuring music, fire, lights, projections and much more.

l Visit: www.durhambid.co.uk/fireandice