Perms main ice village and the Kama embankment were visited by more than 730,000 guests

Photo: Vitaly Koksharov

The ice complex on the Esplanade finished its work on 11 February.

The main ice village on the Esplanade started its work on 30 December, this year it was dedicated to Russian fairy tales and received Pushkins name – «Lukomorye». The creators, artists and sculptors tried to reflect on the colourful themes of Russian art and folklore with the help of ice plastics, to remind the viewer of our common spiritual wealth. The names of the slides and their design were based on the names and images of heroes, quotes from famous fairy tales: The Swan Princess, Baba-Yagas hut, Miracle-Yudo Fish-Whale, The Queen of Shemakha, The Golden Cockerel, The Golden Fish, The Squirrel Sings Song, The Humpbacked Horse, Rejuvenating Apples and The Sea Will Blow Up Turbulently.

The Perm ice village is one of the largest in Russia, covering an annual area of 2.5 thousand square metres. About 900 cubic metres of ice were used to create its objects, and more than 3.5 kilometres of LED lighting were laid for decoration.

On New Years Eve, congratulations and music videos were broadcast on the big screen. During the Christmas holidays, a creche was set up and there  worked an interactive area Visiting the Fairy Tale with traditional winter rides and fun for children. Numerous slides from 1 to 3 metres high worked for both adults and the youngest visitors. Several photo zones were also organized at «Lukomorye». 

According to the citys Department of Culture and Youth Policy, the most visited day, despite the 25-degree frost, was Christmas: 13,200 people came to celebrate the holiday on 7 January. Over 450 thousand residents and guests of Perm visited the ice village while it was open. The second most popular location for walks was the Kama embankment which has been attended by more than 280 thousand people since the New Year.

«We are dismantling New Years decorations in Perm. We will have to disconnect from the power grid, dismantle and remove to storage about 3,000 elements, including more than 60 lighting structures and decorative consoles installed in the citys public spaces for the first time,» said Andrey Khomyakov, Head of the Perm Directorate for Organizing Cultural and Mass Events.