Winterfest 2024: Ice sculptures of children's book characters coming to Stroudsburg
Winterfest returns to life this Presidents Day weekend in downtown Stroudsburg. Over 50 ice sculptures will be displayed throughout town, set to the theme of "Children's Storytime."
This year's event will take place on Saturday, Feb. 17, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The day will kick off with an ice carving demonstration at 11 a.m. in Courthouse Square.
Winterfest activities will include a Clues Game, a family-friendly game of playing detective. Find 10 clues from the storybook character ice sculptures to uncover a magical answer. Then, submit the answer to enter a prize drawing for two ski lift tickets to Shawnee Mountain and a gift card for the Cure Café.
According to event organizer Mary Evanisko, there will be story time and warming stations at different locations, such as the AmeriHealth bus near Siamsa from 11 to 4 p.m. on the hour and Stroudsburg United Methodist Church on the half-hour from 11:30 to 3:30 p.m. St. John's Lutheran Church will have a soup sale and story time. Christ Episcopal Church will offer s'mores and storybook giveaways, and the bookmobile near the square, located at 7th Street in front of the Penn Stroud will hold a make and take craft.
"Winterfest is a non-vendor event for families to walk around town and support all the businesses that support events downtown," said Evanisko. "These local businesses pay for all the sculptures."
The businesses will have specials and giveaways, Evanisko said. "Such as Tolino Vineyards will be offering $5 Winterfest sangrias, Finola's Irish Pub will feature drinks inspired by storybook characters, Pocono Soap will give away free Winterfest lip balm with $15 purchase, the Potting Shed will be giving away a free small jungle plant to first 100 customers, and many more businesses will offer different specials, discounts and raffles."
Besides over 50 ice sculptures of children's book characters, there are also over 30 life-sized sculptures of snowmen, painted by 39 local artists, displayed throughout Stroudsburg for a fun game of find-them-all.
"Some stores will have everyone dressed up in costume to celebrate," said Evanisko. "One candy shop is offering free candy from their candy bar or an additional discount off purchase if you come in dressed in costume and recite a line from the book you're dressed up in character as."
Evanisko said there will be more scavenger hunts and games such as "find the holiday ornaments."
She added that "all the shops, stores and restaurants will be open all day. Many people start showing up as early as 8 a.m. to get a jumpstart on the festivities and linger into the evening."
Ice sculptures — featuring characters from Harry Potter, The Lorax, Winnie the Pooh, Charlotte's Web, Snoopy and more — will go up Saturday morning and will stay until they melt.
According to the National Weather Service as of Wednesday morning, Saturday's forecast calls for a high near 36 in Stroudsburg and a chance of snow before 1 p.m. and a low around 16 at night. Sunday calls for a high near 37 and low around 22. On Monday, a high near 40 is expected.
The Snowmen of Stroudsburg event is in its sixth year, sponsored by GO Collaborative. The snowmen will remain on display through Feb. 24.
Maps of the Snowmen of Stroudsburg and ice sculpture locations can be found at gocollaborativestbg.com.
For details to join the Winterfest Clues Game, go to srosrc.org/scavenger-search-winter.
This free event is hosted by GO Collaborative, Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau and the Downtown Stroudsburg Business Association.
Maria Francis covers K-12 education and real estate, housing and development for the Pocono Record. Reach her at mfrancis@poconorecord.com.
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Winterfest: Ice sculptures, Snowmen of Stroudsburg, local biz specials
