Thousands turn out for annual Fire and Ice Festival

January 30, 2025 · 0 Comments

Winter celebration in Alton was a big hit

By ZACHARY ROMAN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The village of Alton was full of people enjoying winter’s beauty last weekend.

On January 25 and 26, the Alton Mill Arts Centre held its 14th-Annual Fire and Ice Festival. The event has grown to be so popular that the Centre offered parking at alternate sites and a free shuttle to bring people to the Centre.

One of the main attractions at the festival is the annual burning of the fire sculpture, which takes place on Saturday evening and is always a fantastic sight.

For children, the super snow slide, created each year from the best snow Mother Nature has to offer, is always a huge hit.

This year the ice at the pond at the Alton Mill was great and allowed visitors to enjoy ice skating and hockey in the great outdoors.

Visitors to the Mill got to enjoy viewing live demonstrations of ice carving, and were able to ask carvers all sorts of questions about how they do their craft.

The event featured countless other activities like snow-lantern building, live author readings and music, and arts and crafts.

The Fire and Ice Festival is held on a pay-what-you-can basis and all proceeds go to Headwaters Arts, a non-profit that promotes art and supports artists in our region.

“It was an incredible weekend, full of winter fun, unforgettable experiences and amazing people! It truly warms our hearts to see so many wonderful people out enjoying a place that means so much to us,” said the Alton Mill Arts Centre team in a social media post.