The sand sculpture park is open to visitors
27. June, 2020.
From June 20, a sand sculpture park has been opened on the island of Pasta, inviting every resident of Jelgava and city guests to take a look at the wonderful world of sand art. This time, the Sand Sculpture Festival is celebrating its 14th year not as a competition, but as a tribute to Jelgava and its history in the form of an exhibition, offering to view 10 works of art that reveal the city's story over the course of 755 years - from the first reindeer hunters who inhabited the current city territory to music for the group "Brainstorm".
Everyone is invited to visit the Pasta Island and appreciate the work of the sculptors, which was created in the last two weeks. Adapting to the current situation, international artists could not participate in the festival this year, so the works were created by the best domestic sculptors who have already proven themselves in previous ice and sand sculpture festivals.
The author of the artistic concept of the sculpture park, Kārlis Īle, together with the sculptor Maija Punculi, created the demo sculpture of the festival - the big coat of arms of the city of Jelgava, which is more than six meters high and is supplemented with the logo of the city's 755th anniversary, while the other artists in their works reveal various histories of Jelgava in chronological order pages - ancient reindeer hunters, Zemgali settlements on the coast of Lielupe, the Order of the Sword Brothers, the times of Duke Jēkabs, the adventures of the world's most famous adventurers, the first hot-air balloon flight, the motifs of plays by the father of the theater Ādolfs Alunāns, as well as the operation of the Jelgava sugar factory and the well-known Jelgava band "Prāta vētra". Historical evidence from the G. Elias Jelgava History and Art Museum is used as a basis for several works, while in others the artists have made their own interpretations of how events could have looked, for which no visual evidence has been preserved. The sculptures are also accompanied by narratives about other historical events of Jelgava, which can be read on the tablets located in the festival area. Visitors to the Post Island Sculpture Park can also learn, for example, about the first museum in Latvia outside of Riga, about the stay of the King of France in Jelgava Castle, about the development of the city's coat of arms over time, as well as about other important historical events.
The sand sculpture park is open all summer until October, every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., including weekends and public holidays. Entrance fee - 2 euros for adults, 1 euro for schoolchildren, students, pensioners and the disabled, but children under 7 years of age are free of charge. Tickets can be purchased at "Bilešu paradīze" ticket offices, as well as on the Internet www.bilesuparadize.lv or at the box office on Post Island at the entrance to the sand sculpture park.
