Carved in Ice Festival gets warm welcome
Diamond Park on Saturday was filled with ice, but not the kind that causes people to slip and fall.
As part of the Butler A.M. Rotary Club's Carved in Ice Festival, the park was filled with multiple ice sculptures, large and small. Ice was provided by DiMartino Ice of Greensburg.
Jim Thompson, a member of the club who helped organize the event, said he and other members had seen such events elsewhere, and thought it would be nice to bring one here
“We wanted something different for our club fundraiser,” Thompson said.
He said DiMartino challenged the Rotary to sell 10 blocks of ice. It ended up selling 72, which Thompson said could net the club about $30,000.
“It's been phenomenal,” Thompson said.Smaller ice sculptures were made up of only one block of ice, and there were 38 of them. There also were larger sculptures, including one of a Jeep, a throne that people could sit on and a slide kids could use.Despite the cold theme, the temperature topped 60 degrees. The ideal temperature range for ice events is about 32 to 45 degrees, Thompson said. To counteract the heat, he said organizers put out the smaller, single-block figures during the morning and kept them covered until the event began at 11 a.m. Beyond that, he said no other precautions really needed to be taken.While Thompson said there was no real way to estimate how many people attended, it was a significant turnout.“The Diamond was packed shoulder-to-shoulder for at least three of the five hours,” he said.The festival also included a chili cook-off, wine tasting, other vendors and ice skating.The “ice” for the skating came in the form of a large, unfolded synthetic surface that turned Main Street in front of the park into a rink.
Jack Juris of Sarver thought it would be fun to come and see the ice.“I'm impressed by some of the ice sculptures,” Juris said, although he noted that he did not have a favorite.He said the weather was not ideal.“It would be nice if we had a nice, gentle snow, but that isn't going to happen,” Juris said.Alesia Hall of Butler was impressed.“I think it's awesome, especially on a warm day — the ice is still there,” Hall said.She said her favorite sculpture was of a diamond, and she said it was fun to watch craftsmen carve the larger pieces. Hall also liked seeing the ice slide.
“The slide is nice for the kids,” Hall said.Lori Hovis of Butler came home from the University of Pittsburgh, in part, to check out the festival.“I'm impressed,” Hovis said.She did not mind the warm weather.“I think it makes it more enjoyable,” Hovis said. “Since we are here early, we get to see the ice before it melts.”She also was participating in chili tasting, already being a big fan of her first sample.Michele McGinnis of Karns City said the sculptures were fun, but also liked seeing people skate.“If I was more coordinated, I'd try it myself,” McGinnis said.
