We are always looking for something new to experience, especially if we can find a road trip or day trip close by. I saw something a couple weeks ago about the Butler Ice Festival. It sounded like it could be fun so we thought “Why not?” There are waterfalls in the area and a few restaraunts we have on the “Want to Go” list, so the day would not be lost if it was less than anticipated.
Main Street was closed for 5 blocks, allowing plenty of space for attendants to roam. There was a large selection of vendors, from wine and whiskey merchants to smoked BBQ sandwiches or freshly popped kettle corn. Scheduled events included a chili cook-off, hot dog eating contest, face painting, fire trucks and cornhole. The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile was there, too.
Clearly, they also had a lot of AMAZING ice sculptures! Most are carved on Friday afternoon and evening, but they were working hard to craft a few large sculptures on Saturday. I didn’t take a count, but there were at least 30 of the smaller sculptures throughout the square. All of them were carved with intricate details! Some were whimsical and fun, others historic or patriotic. There were a lot of animal themed carvings, including some of the large ones. You’ll see below that they were all expertly carved and beatiful.
I was very impressed by how friendly everyone we met was and the downtown seemed pretty vibrant. I even came across a mural that led me to search for others, more on that later. If you’re looking for a fun, family friendly event that makes for a great day trip, add a reminder to your calendar for 2024 and we’ll see ya there
Do you have any winter celebrations in your community, or one that’s close by? Have you attended one this winter? If so, share them in the comments - I’d love to see how everyone is staying entertained during the colder months! @Mo_TravelleerX Is it winter where you are in China? @Stephanie_OWL I have to believe that Germany has some fun festivals this time of year? @EvaBar How about Macedonia? @TravellerG Have you come across any unique festivals in your travels? @TerryPG Are there any winter happenings up north?
Thank you for sharing these amazing pictures, @Mikeinthefalls !! Those sculptures are so perfectly and intricately created! It looks like you had a great day.
I, too, have had an encounter with the Wienermobile recently! We were lucky enough to host the two Hotdoggers for a tour of our airship facility and, in turn, a few of us got to ride around the block in it!!!
Genial publicación has hecho @Mikeinthefalls , es notable lo que logran esos talladores, me gustaron todas, pero la de “Abe” se lleva el aplauso por su realismo y el unicornio tiene un trabajo fabuloso.
¿Las tallan allí mismo o se elaboran en otro lado y después se exponen?
¿ Cuanto tiempo duran intactas ? ¿Tiene al soporte para mantener el frío o algún producto que hace que el hielo se derrita más lentamente?
Felicitaciones por el posteo, digno de ponerlo en la lista de deseos.
Fully appreciate your efforts and dedication, dear @Mikeinthefalls
Congratulations…
Every shot is worth viewing for 5 minutes…
Really mind blowing.
I too have all the doubts which were asked by our friend @CAAG1959 ; additionally, I want to ask, what is the AMBIENT TEMPERATURE over there in the atmosphere?
Crisp clear and sharply carved!
Unable to believe this…
“… @TravellerG Have you come across any unique festivals in your travels…”
Sorry… No way… I have seen such objects in Crystal…
@MelTG A ride in the Wienermobile That’s amazing! I think that’s worthy of a Connect post. Did you refer to them as Hotdoggers? Haha what a great “job title”
@CAAG1959 Thank you for appreciating this post! It really is remarkable what they are able to achieve.
They utilize pretty standard power tools for most of the work, which made it all the more impressive.
They are all carved on site. During a more traditional winter, they could last a week or more. However, this winter has been unseasonably warm and the high for today is expected to reach 60°F and be mostly sunny. So I don’t imagine they’ll last much longer.
It was very interesting to see the effect that sun and shade had on them. The ones located in the sun were melting at a more advanced rate, but also shinier!
Absolutely amazing Photos of ice sculptures @Mikeinthefalls not sure if everyone in the world knows what goes in to an Ice Sculpture, not sure if they know the amazing delicate ice cutting that goes on , and of course they have to cope with temperature (main culprit ) and conditions, .
I love theses Mike and yes we do do similar things in Canada
@TravellerG , I had a feeling this would be something that would strike a chord with mainly folks in the USA. My knowledge of the history of Wienermobile before they visited our facility was very little but after they left, I think I know a little too much
In short, there are six of these strategically placed around the US. Each WM has a pair of super energetic college aged kids that travel from city to city promoting the Oscar Mayer brand. Our team thought that was particularly interesting bc we have 12 Goodyear Blimp pilots and they have 12 “Hotdoggers”.
@Mikeinthefalls hahaha, I did indeed! I wish I could take credit for coining the term but that’s their official title. It’s even on their business cards
Thanks for appreciating my photos @TerryPG I hoped the details would show through on Connect! You are correct when you mention the delicate and deliberate cutting that goes into creating one. I recorded a few videos, going to try to piece them together and share on YouTube. However, here is an ice sculptor at work on one from that day:
We’re having great weather this week, feels like Spring may arrive early - How’s the weather in Ontario?
Your appreciation of these frozen sculptures, warms my heart today @TravellerG
I’m so glad to see that you enjoyed my post! There were so many ice sculptures, it was hard to decide which would which would photograph well. Many of the ones pictured were simply my favorites!
The ambient temperature on that day was around 42°F, the overnight temps were at or below freezing. So the sculptures from the previous evening didn’t look much different on Saturday. However, it was a very sunny day and those in the direct sun were definitely melting at an advanced rate.
I will add this fun fact: My son has his name carved into a block of ice to take home with him at a festival many years ago. We kept it in the freezer and you could still read his name 4 years later! Once it had “shrunk” to the point you could no longer see his name, him and a friend had a celebratory smashing of the ice.
Yeah @Mikeinthefalls this weather is unreal Today we set a record high of 8C/46 F tomorrow will be another record , going to be 15C/60 F. this is unreal for February.
Really glade to know about Ice Festival in first time. They are look like amazing. Nice creations. Very creative! Thank you for sharing with us! @Mikeinthefalls
Thanks a million for your detailed response - highly appreciate & also thank you.
“… it was a very sunny day and those in the direct sun were definitely melting at an advanced rate…”
Yes, from your beautiful shots, it was clear that the sun was bright… Still the carvings were almost intact. Of course, I could notice the melted water on the base of some carvings.
That’s amazing! I think that’s worthy of a Connect post. 
Did you refer to them as Hotdoggers? Haha what a great “job title” 
It looks like a very realistic movie special effect! That is definitely worth the share, thanks 
