Hotopp Associates in partnership with Marriott Hotels designs world renowned annual holiday ice attractions for Gaylord Hotels and Resorts.
When Hotopp started designing ice attractions in 2001 we never imagined that over fifteen years our team would grow to design and implement four to six ice attractions a year all over the world. From concept design to art direction we bring these attractions to life, transforming a traditional folk art into a high end immersive experience for hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. Hotopp has worked with many of the worlds most iconic holiday brands to adapt their established narratives for ice attractions. Partners have included DreamWorks, Classic Media, Dr. Seuss, and Peanuts.
Sculpted ice is nothing new. Artisans have been creating beautiful frozen objects for centuries. But Hotopp does it differently. Our inspiration comes from the annual Harbin Ice Festival in Harbin, China. Because Harbin is in one of the coldest habitable regions on earth, it’s possible for artists there to create towering architectural wonders outdoors, using ice pulled directly from the river. Of course, not every region has a ready-made supply of frozen materials.
Our ice is produced in factories and delivered to the site of the attraction. Blocks of ice are dyed a variety of colors, from crystal clear to jet black. We collaborate with those same talented carvers from Harbin. They bring handmade tools and generations of experience. We bring focused design talent and production management skills in the western theatrical tradition.
Not only do we provide Immersive storytelling in a non-traditional medium, but we also manage the logistics of all the tents, the massive coolers, the physical props, lighting, rigging, and art directed the ice carvers in 5 different cities!
ALL at the SAME time!
For 20 years not we’ve been designing, producing, and fabricating these unique touring holiday attractions.
