Groups looking for some winter fun will find it in Breckenridge, Colo., this month in the form of two festivals: Ullr Fest and the International Snow Sculpture Competition.
Kicking off this week—Jan. 11 to 14 to be exact—Ullr Fest has been taking place for 50-plus years as a town-wide snow dance that celebrates the Norse God of Snow. Locals and visitors alike put on Viking helmets and participate in team building activities such as the Ullr Parade, Ullympics in which attendees can fling frying pans for prizes, pond hockey, bon fire, Ullr Bike Race and Ullr Ice Plunge.
Even before the parade festivities begin though, Breckenridge is prepping to win back the title of The World’s Longest Shotski with a pre-parade Shotski hosted by Breckenridge Distillery. More than 1,200 people will line the town’s Main Street to take a shot from the world-record-breaking ski.
Later in the month from Jan. 24 to Jan. 28, Breckenridge will also host the International Snow Sculpture Competition in which famous snow artists will come from all over the world to transform 20-ton blocks of snow into art sculptures. The 65-hour competition spans five days—just enough time to avoid any melting.
This year, teams will come from the U.S., Sweden, Mexico, Turkey, India, Finland, Mongolia, Iceland, Germany, China, Italy and Great Britain. Groups looking to learn a bit of the event’s history and discover the process of snow sculpting can do so by visiting the exhibit in the Thaw Lounge+Music.
