TEHRAN – A national festival dedicated to making snowmen was held in the west-central Hamedan province on Wednesday, a local tourism official has said.

The festival was held in the tourist village of Akanlu as part of recreational programs organized to mark the 44th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Mehdi Gholami explained on Saturday.

The event was aimed to help promote nature tourism in the region, the official added.

Earlier in January, Hamedan’s deputy tourism chief Ali Khaksar announced that Hamedan is organizing a huge winter festival, scheduled to be held from February 13 to March 8.

“We intend to hold a different event full of social joy and cheerfulness,” the official said.

There will be both snow-related and non-snow-related programs, as well as craft, souvenir, and culinary exhibitions, a pumpkin festival, health and beauty activities, a coffee and chocolate exhibition, and a snowman-making competition, he explained.

Winter games, making snow sculptures, storytelling sessions, ski trips, puppet shows, and gastronomy events are other programs planned for the festival.

Known in classical times as Ecbatana, Hamedan was one of the ancient world’s greatest cities. Pitifully little remains from antiquity, but significant parts of the city center are given over to excavations, and there’s a scattering of historical curiosities.

Sprawling on a high plain, Hamedan is graciously cool in August but snow prone and freezing from December to March. In summer the air is often hazy, but on a rare, clear spring day there are impressive glimpses of snow-capped Alvand Kuh (3580m), sitting aloof above the ragged neocolonial cupolas of Imam Khomeini Sq.

It never falls short of offering cultural heritage sites to its visitors. Scenic natural landscapes, traditional restaurants, public gardens, colorful outdoor markets, and more importantly, its hospitable people make for an unexpected slice of the city.

ABU/AM