WEST READING, Pa.- Ice blocks. Chainsaws. And plenty to see along Penn Avenue.
The Ice and Spice Fest is back in West Reading, bringing live ice carvings, special deals, and winter energy to the borough.
“It’s our 9th annual Ice and Spice Fest,” said Nick Price, Main Street Executive Director. “We have live carving starting at 3 o’clock today, all the way through until 7 o’clock tonight.”
This year, the festival is bigger than ever, with 35 ice sculptures, up from just 22 last year.
“We really branched out to non–West Reading businesses to get more,” Price said. “One of the neat ones is a live carving right on the corner of North 6th and Penn, it’s a Nittany Lion. Penn State Berks is doing one similar to what they have at main campus, so we definitely have some neat ones.”
While Friday and Saturday are packed with events and live carvings, Sunday will look a little different.
“Sunday, with the weather, obviously they’re going to be here with the cold, but we don’t have any events planned on Sunday for safety,” Price said.
Behind every sculpture is ice carver Danny Kissel.
“It doesn’t matter if it snows. It doesn’t matter if it’s cold,” Kissel said. “It’s wintertime. This is when ice festivals happen.”
For Kissel, the goal goes beyond the ice itself.
“Towns are dead at this time of year,” he said. “So the idea is to bring people in. People that would normally stay inside come out, look at the ice, buy some drinks, get some food, and stop at the stores. It really promotes a town in the wintertime.”
Ice and Spice Fest activities continue Friday and Saturday along the 400 to 700 blocks of Penn Avenue, with live carvings happening throughout the weekend.