According to the press service of the local Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship, the Snezhnaya Derevnya tourist center in the Murmansk Region will kick off Snegolyod ‒ the traditional international festival of snow and ice sculpture ‒ on January 18.

During the week-long festival, participants from the Murmansk Region, six other Russian regions, Scandinavia and Latvia will create ice sculptures. A Mad Saw contest for speedy creation of ice sculptures will take place on Kirovsk's main square on January 23 at 5 p.m. In a matter of 90 minutes, the contest participants will use saws and other tools to turn blocks of ice into ice sculptures.

A roundup of the festival and award ceremony will take place in Snezhnaya Derevnya on January 24.

This festival is sponsored by the Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship of the Murmansk Region and the authorities of the city of Kirovsk, and is being held in Snezhnaya Derevnya for the fifth time. The first festival took place in 2011. In 2013, the traditional Snegolyod festival gained international status, bringing together participants from Russia, Norway, Finland and Latvia. In 2016, Snegolyod was included in the National calendar of events.