Page 3 - ice2019

Page 3

Back to basics

40th Annual Ice Festival celebrates small town charm

While the 40th annual Plymouth Ice
Festival has moved forward on the cal-
endar this year, the event has also
taken a step back in history.
Set for Feb. 11, 12 and 13 this year
rather than the traditional mid-
January celebration of all things win-
ter, the event is going “back to basics”
according to producer James Gietzen
of JAG Entertainment. Gietzen said a
number of factors prompted the sched-
ule move, the most important being the
weather and the current COVID pan-
demic. In his decade of producing the
festival, he said he has seen years with
temperatures too cold for crowds and
years it was too warm for the ice carv-
ings which prompted consideration of
the move to February. The move may
allow more time for the COVID omi- response from the crowds. The festival days. He said the festival accomplished
cron epidemic to ease, something really made a positive impact on the that last year while providing a “really
Gietzen and his crew are hoping hap- entire community last year at a time fun way for families to get out and
pens. when people needed a break. enjoy the outdoors and feel safe.”
“I guess you could say, we are going “We got so much positive feedback Gietzen said that positive response
back to basics,” Gietzen said. “Last from everyone involved last year,” he from both merchants and crowds last
year, because of COVID, we spread the added. Gietzen said the original festi- year was a real inducement to move
ice carvings out throughout the down- val was conceived 40 years ago as a the event to February this year. Using
town,” he said, “and people seemed to way to attract residents to downtown the entire downtown area leaving
really enjoy that. The merchants in Plymouth and help businesses during
town, too, were happy with the a slow time of year following the holi- See Basics, page 4