Carved in Ice to showcase dozens of sculptures in Diamond Park
Diamond Park in Butler will showcase a mix of animals, vehicles and a giant slide — all made of frozen water this weekend.
The eighth annual Carved in Ice event will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9, and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday with more than 60 ice sculptures of varying shapes and sizes on display at the park, situated on Butler’s Main Street.
On Friday, people can see ice carved in real time while enjoying hot food and drinks. Saturday, they can return to see the finished work, which will include a slide for children to play.
The event is free and open to the public.
“You can enjoy the ice, you can enjoy the DJ, the ice, the entertainment,” Peggy Weckerly of the Butler AM Rotary Club said. “Each year, we kept looking at it in terms of what can we do to make it better for the people of Butler and how can we raise money for kids in need and scholarships and the weekend backpack program.”
The Butler AM Rotary Club has been taking sponsors for ice blocks for months, and the purchasing businesses and organizations will be the subject of ice sculptures in the square. Friday evening is the time for people to come and enjoy the ice and the live action, and Saturday is when people can check out the chili cook-off, the bake-off, a hot dog eating contest, 50/50 raffles and more.
While the event uses Diamond Park as its central area, the Rotary club has expanded activity throughout Butler, putting the chili cook-off in the Butler Art Center and Gallery and children’s activities in the Holly Pointe Building.
Additionally, the square will host several food trucks, and there will be a visit from the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, Weckerly said.
One of the main draws of entertainment, however, is the live carving of ice blocks by DiMartino Ice carvers on Friday evening. Diehl Toyota has always sponsored the event, and each year gets the largest sculpture in Diamond Park. A carver will shape one stack of 12 ice blocks into a Volkswagen bus this year.
Carving the sculpture takes at least an hour, but Ernie DiMartino, president of DiMartino Ice, said the process is part of the expression of a carver.
“It's a labor of love,” DiMartino said. “Sometimes when we are carving, the windchill goes down to about zero. It takes a different person to be an ice carver and do that.”
With the weather for the weekend shaping up to be warmer than usual, Weckerly said she expects the crowd draw to be large throughout the two-day event.
“Every year, it has grown; we have brought thousands of people to downtown Butler,” Weckerly said. “You don't have to spend money to be there.”
For more information on this year’s Carved in Ice, visit the Rotary club’s website at butleramrotary.com.
