TECUMSEH, Mich. (WXYZ) — The cold is certainly here, but icy January temperatures are actually perfect for the Tecumseh Ice Sculpture Festival, which has been running for 17 years now.
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Starting Friday night and continuing through this weekend, ice artists will chisel their way through Downtown Tecumseh, just when the city needs it most.
“We’ll be doing live demonstrations of ice sculpting," Rhonda Nowak, the marketing and event coordinator for the City of Tecumseh, told me. "In january, in the winter, it's usually slow for businesses, so we tried to find something that would be exciting."
Nowak said the 17th annual Ice Sculpture Festival will be the city's biggest yet.
“Started out with 15 to 20 sculptures. This year we’ll have 49. About 6,000 to 8,000 people will show up this weekend," Nowak said.
What a sight it will be with sculptures all along Downtown Tecumseh. There will be a sculpture in front of every storefront, including Patina Jewelry.
“Every year's different. Sometimes we do snacks, sometimes we do giveaways, this year just keeping the doors open," Cheynne Good, the co-owner of Patina Jewelry, said.
Good said that those thousands of visitors help put Tecumseh in the spotlight.
“And it’s just a nice experience for them to get to shop and see what we have to offer as a town," Good said.
“This is a great weekend that will set us up for the next two months," Edward Gerten, the operations manager of Pentamere Winery, added.
Pentamere has had a front row seat to the festival each and every year. Gerten said the crowded streets during the annual festival help keep the wine flowing during the winter months.
“The first quarter is always the slowest. With this festival, it helps give us that extra padding," Gerten said.
The festival kicks off Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and runs the same time on Saturday and Sunday. You can learn more on the city's website.
"A lot of activities going on. We'll have a bird exhibit that will be here, a barred owl people can come and get up close to, we have a scavenger hunt going on all weekend," Nowak said.
