Theresa's Mixed Nuts: St. Joe Ice Festival

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

St. Joe Ice Festival

We had a great time at the Niles Ice Festival last year, so when I found out we were going to have unseasonably warm temperatures for this years festival, I decided we'd have to skip since the heat would probably have most of the carvings dripping before we arrived. I was a bit bummed we were going to miss it, but was pretty stoked when I heard that St. Joe, Michigan was going to offer an ice festival this year, and as luck would have it, the temperatures were going to be ideal for the weekend it was on.

ice sculpting

The St. Joe festival was no where near as big as Niles, and after seeing the huge castle and other massive carvings at last year's show, I was a bit disappointed in this show. However, there were some really lovely ice sculptures to admire, so the trip wasn't a total bust.

ice sculpting

ice sculpture

ice sculpture

ice sculpture

ice sculpture

My favorite was this mermaid ice sculpture:

ice sculpture

ice sculpture

Jason's favorite was the Chicago Cubs World Series Champion Ice Sculpture, but the burger and beer was a pretty close second.

ice sculpture

ice sculpture


Is there anything better than a cold beer and cold pizza? ;)

ice sculpture

ice sculpture

There was an oversized snow person making balloon animals for the kids. 


If that wasn't your thing, you could try your hand at the dead frozen fish toss. Which really wasn't my thing either. Yuck!


Allison has been obsessed with roosters for quite a few years, and even more so after seeing the hilarious rooster Heihei in Moana, so we made her stop for a photo with this one.


Even though it wasn't as big as last years ice festival, we still had a great time and will return if they put on another ice show next year.


Does your town put on ice festivals?

34 comments:

  1. Oh man. I haven't been to an ice festival in forever. Side effect in living in Southern California. T_T

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, the sculptures surely wouldn't last long there!

      Delete
  2. Love the mermaid and the horse!
    Why is she obsessed with roosters? How positively peculiar :) I hate me all kinds of chicken and feathery creatures, they're ever so nasty. I do like duckies and penguins, though

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Her love of roosters is an ongoing joke. She bought a puzzle at a yard sale and was so excited to get home to put it together. As soon as she got home, she opened the box but didn't find puzzle pieces. Inside were two hideous rooster statues instead. She would have been mad if it weren't so funny! I blogged about it way back in the day. You can see those hideous chickens here http://www.theresasmixednuts.com/2012/08/yard-sale-dud.html.

      Delete
    2. OMG the puzzle looked so lovely with those idyllic ponies and the hut, the roosters really are ugly as sin, jeepers creepers

      Delete
    3. We did end up buying her some Thomas Kinkade puzzles to make up for the loss, but she still insists on displaying those ugly roosters on her bedroom shelf.

      Delete
    4. How come there wasn't a sculpture of Dezzmeister?

      Delete
    5. Did you not see that peacock up there? That's totally Dezzy. All colorful and grand ;)

      Delete
  3. They sure take some skill to do. The turtle stood out for me. Don't think they have any such ice festivals around here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd probably saw my arm off or at least lose an eye. Skill is definitely needed!

      Delete
  4. That's really pretty cool! I'm trying to think what I'd make if I were to sculpt one. An igloo maybe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. An igloo would be awesome! Now I am wondering why they don't make an igloo for the kids to play in. How fun that would be!

      Delete
  5. Our town is too hot for those.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You barely get a dusting of snow each year, so I definitely couldn't see an ice festival working in your area.

      Delete
  6. I have never been to an ice festival but it sounds like a lot of fun. Those ice sculptures are really impressive.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Its just amazing what these artists can do! Going to an ice festival would be a lot of fun, watching the sculptures take form. I wish there would be one like that where I live, considering the amount of snow we get every year.

    ReplyDelete
  8. That is so cool! I find ice sculpture to be fascinating. It's amazing to me that they can do such a thing fast enough to keep it from melting.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ice carving is just plain awesome. I have sat and watched an ice carver go from a block of ice to a full on carving in one setting. I just sat there. It was amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  10. The one thing about living where I do is that it is a little too warm in the winter for ice festivals. I have seen some ice carvings that were pretty sweet, though. Just not around here. These were all much better than the ones I have seen, though.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Those are so neat! They are so good!

    ReplyDelete
  12. No ice scupltures in my town, but I have seen them in Frankenmuth and they were awesome. It's amazing what folks can do if they're artsy, isn't it? The turtle here is my fave. That photographed really well...but they're all very cool (pun not intended). ;)

    ReplyDelete
  13. What an amazing festival! These artworks are really incredible! I was so amazed with the mermaid! :D

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow that is some beautiful ice sculptures. I'm so impressed. I'd like to visit there and see it.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love ice sculptures! They look fantastic, Theresa..we will soon have on in Central Park as well :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. This looks like it was a wonderful time and an unique activity to do with the family.
    I liked the Seahorse sculpture from your last post on this the best; my husband, like your daughter, is a rooster guy. He was born in the Chinese Year of the Rooster, so he is a fan.

    ReplyDelete
  17. What a wonderful way to get outdoors with your kids during the winter season! Those ice carvings are truly works of art! Would love to get a look at those sculptures up close!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Those are very cool ice sculptures! I love the turtle and the mermaid! Glad the weather cooperated for such a fun event.

    ReplyDelete
  19. My town doesnt do anything like this, but i would love to go to one. These ice sculptures are so beautiful, very talented people.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I have never been to an ice festival but would love too!!! Those are all so beautiful, it's hard to choose my favorite.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I've never been to an ice festival. Those sculptures are awesome. That takes some mad skill!

    ReplyDelete
  22. These are super-creative! I love taking my kids to the ice festival that we have here in our town! It's always so much fun!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comments! I appreciate every one of them :) Except promotional posts with added links. Those will be deleted.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...