Icefest

Saturday
Skies were clear overnight, so when I got up this morning our outdoor thermometer was reading -3 F! An appropriate weekend therefore for Icefest, taking place in Hamilton Ohio, about a 30 minute drive north from us. This was the first year they'd held it since 2008, due to the poor economy. In 2006 it was an unusually warm weekend, with temperatures in the low 50s, so the sculptures were melting. There certainly wasn't any fear for that today! We stayed at home during the morning, waiting for the sun to warm things up a bit, but it was still bitterly cold (high in the upper teens) when we ventured out up to Hamilton in the early afternoon. The theme for the event this year was Great books in ice - some of those depicted were Cat in the Hat, Peter Pan, Where the Wild Things are, The Giving Tree, and many more. I forgot to note which book this one represented! We wandered round for a while until my fingers were just too cold, then we went to warm up with some hot chocolate and a nice bowl of warming hot chili. Thus fortified we set out to finish our tour. Hamilton calls itself the city of sculpture, and is home to Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park which I have blipped here and here. When we got back, Roger was very strong-willed and took himself off to the gym to exercise, but I'm afraid my will power was lacking - once I was in the warm house, I didn't fancy going out again!