Ligonier Ice Fest to celebrate '30 years of cool fun'

This year’s Ligonier Ice Fest will celebrate “30 years of cool fun,” said event chair Cindy Purnell.

The frozen festivities are scheduled for Jan. 23-24 in Ligonier Diamond Park and the surrounding downtown area.

Whether it’s 7 degrees or 70, Purnell said, the event will have all the visitor favorite features that folks have come to expect in the festival’s three-decade history — chief among them the dozens of carvings from DiMartino Ice Co. in Jeannette.

“Ice carving is a form of art, and that’s the key to this festival,” Purnell said. “Every year, we try to come up with new ideas and make them as creative as possible.”

The 30th annual festival will feature more multi-block sculptures than ever before, she said.

There also will be a large, surprise showpiece carving — or two — in the bandstand on the Diamond.

As usual, festival-goers will be able to munch on a favorite sweet-and-salty treat from Hanson’s Original Kettle Korn and take a horse-drawn tour around town (weather permitting) with Misty Haven Carriage.

Merchants will offer indoor sidewalk sale deals, and local restaurants also will have weekend specials.

“The firemen are changing things up a little,” Purnell said. Instead of their traditional spaghetti dinner, they’ll serve burgers, hot dogs and fries outside the fire station at 112 N. Fairfield St.

The pandemic also has driven another change to the festival, said Amy Beitel, executive director of the Ligonier Valley Chamber of Commerce.

“There will be no live carving, so as not to draw a crowd in one place,” she said.

“The sculptures will be set up and ready for you to view,” Purnell said. “They’ll be as beautiful and creative as they always are. There are no shortcuts in that respect.”

“We’re fortunate to be able to offer the festival,” Beitel said. “People have had to sacrifice their holidays and so many other things they had planned.”

“At the time when (the ice fest) is celebrated, people are typically tired of being cooped up, and that’s true now more than ever,” Purnell said.

Beitel noted that visitors will be asked to follow all CDC safety guidelines in place at the time of the event.

Details: ligonier.com