Basic HTML Version
his tenure as ice festival boss, he made
several trips to Japan and Canada to
recruit artists and teachers to partici-
pate in the ice carving exhibition. He
also worked out many agreements that
exist today, including a relationship
with local culinary colleges to have
their students exhibit during the show.
This year the college students will com-
pete in teams and individually on
Saturday andSunday.
While Lorenz said if he had a dime
for every person the event brought in to
Plymouth, he'd be rich enough to be sit-
ting on a beach in Miami sipping
Margaritas, he said many others
deserve recognition for their hard work
and service.
After Lorenz received his epiphany
about having an ice festival in
Plymouth, he looked for volunteers and
sponsors. The first two men he told
about his idea were his father, Ralph,
who owned the Mayflower Hotel and
Hank Graper, the city manager at the
time.
While the elder Lorenz thought his
son's idea was crazy, Graper talked to
downtown businesses and secured
$1,000 in early donations. With that
money and lots of walking and talking,
the duo hosted their first ice festival 45-
days after Lorenz saw the 60 Minutes
feature.
With Lorenz as the leader of the
event and Graper working behind the
scenes, the script for success lasted for
more than 10 years.
Current City Manager Paul Sincock,
who worked as assistant manager
under Graper, said his former boss was
dedicated to the ice-carving event from
Plymouth Ice Festival
Page 11
See
History,
page 14