Fishtown Freeze puts ice sculpting on display

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Fishtown residents who braved the cold on a frigid Saturday were treated to Santa sightings, holiday deals at more than 20 local small businesses, rides on a free trolley and live ice carving demonstrations.

Fishtown Kensington Area Business Improvement District and Fishtown Co. organized Fishtown Freeze, an annual event now in its sixth year.

Moire Pellegrini, who has lived in Fishtown for 10 years, strolled down Frankford Avenue with her family, taking in a Gritty ice sculpture outside of Cake Life Bake Shop.

“I think it’s just a nice way to get the community out, exploring down Frankford, drawing them to small businesses,” she said.

For those who wanted to see ice carving in action, artists with Ice Sculpture Philly, a West Philly-based, internationally-renowned studio, were on hand to create new sculptures in front of an audience. The studio also designed and sculpted 14 of the ice sculptures on display at local businesses. CharLee Mares, an ice sculptor and CNC operator at Ice Sculpture Philly, said winter is the studio’s busy season.

“Summertime, we do a lot of wedding things, like single sculpture wedding blocks,” she said. “But this is when we really get to get creative and have a lot of fun. It’s busy, but it’s great to get creative.”

Mares said this year’s weather made for better ice carving conditions. At last year’s Fishtown Freeze, temperatures reached into the 60s, making it difficult to freeze ice slabs together while constructing the sculpture.

“Luckily, today is really, really cold, so things are going to hold up better,” she said. “But …because it’s sunny, if things are sitting out in the sun, give or take, a few hours, four or five hours, they’re just gonna turn white and crumble.”

However fleeting the final artwork is, Mares said seeing people’s reactions to the sculptures and the carvings makes it all worth it.

“It’s incredible to watch the community come together like this,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun to see everyone out with their kids, everyone watching the ice. It’s cool to know that you do something that makes people stop and look and enjoy the scenery.”

Fishtown Freeze holiday shopping deals last through Sunday. A list of participating retailers can be found online.