Sapporo Snow Festival, Japan

Hello everyone! 💙 Today is the start of the Sapporo Snow Festival, this festival will be going on from February 4th to the 11th. Some may know what this festival is and some may not, so @mxmes & @azuladragon34 will give some information about it.

What is it:

🧊 The Sapporo Snow Festival is located in Japan, it’s mainly about snow and ice sculptures 🧊

It takes place in three different sites which would be Odori Park, Tsudome, and Susukino. Susukino is the smallest but it is said to hold about 100 ice sculptures and an ice sculpture contest!

History:

The Sapporo Snow Festival began in 1950 when local high school students built six snow statues in Odori Park. More than 50,000 people showed up, and it became an annual tradition. The first towering sculpture debuted three years later, and by 1955 the Self Defense Force began to participate with imposing designs.

Every year, the festival saw increases in innovations and participants. It caught national attention in 1959 and world-wide coverage during the 1972 Winter Olympics. Now, it’s a celebration of art, winter sports, local cuisines, and Sapporo’s relationships with cities across the globe. 2020 will be the 71st Sapporo Snow Festival~!

What happens during the festival:

There are a lot of ice sculptures crafted by teams across Japan. Some examples are sparkling white prehistoric animals, Disney characters and famous sights such as the Egyptian pyramids, Angkor temples and Matsumoto castle. At night the sculptures are lit up with colorful lights. Food and drinks such as Hot sake and mulled wine and all the usual Japanese festival food including yakitori chicken skewers, okonomiyaki pancakes, takoyaki octopus balls, and the winter speciality: crab nabe hot-pot are available.

Please feel free to answer these discussion questions!

✨ This festival is annually held in Sapporo, Japan over seven days in what month?

✨ How many snow statues did the local high school students build?

✨ What are the usual Japanese festival foods?

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