This week I thought I'd do something different and write a positive and upbeat column. HEY! Get off that floor—it's not that shocking.
Last Saturday I seized my friend Dave Holland and forced him at “camera-point” to accompany me to the Ice Fest.
I think the actual name of the event was “The Ice House Festival” but I'm going to shorten it to “Ice Fest” for the purposes of this column. (Just in case you are wondering, Perpetual (fiance of a thousand years) was not available to escort me to this shindig. He is well aware that I went with another man—gasp! Oh simmer down.)
We began the tour of our hometown in the delightful Conneaut Lake Area Historical Society Museum. Boy, that is a mouthful, huh? Anyhow, I did some filming there as well for my YouTube channel. (I'm not certain you know about my channel on YouTube because I don't talk about it a lot here in print. I'm very shy and am nervous about promoting my own stuff.
OK, that was clearly chock-full of sarcasm, just in case you didn't catch on. Also, I think this might be a digression so we are good to go for the week.)
The museum has really improved over the years with exhibits ranging from high school sports to Exposition Park jazz. I highly recommend that you take a tour of this joint even if you were born and raised in the area, as it is brimming with nostalgia. A warm and fuzzy feeling filled the air as I took in the various displays of the past.
I really cannot recommend this enough. I think I might head over to the Linesville Historical Museum as well and also hit the one in Conneautville. I shall wait for warmer weather for both of those tours though.
You know that the local historians saved that building as it was slated for demolition or it was close to being scheduled or something like that. I remember when this whole process began in terms of approaching the borough council about the building, etc.
It's a good thing that there was a group of concerned citizens as it has turned out to be a charming venue for all things historical.
Moving along, we next walked to the actual festival of ice. The very first item on display as one entered Ice House Park was a GIANT pair of Channellock pliers made of ice, of course.
This was my first visit to the fest so I'm not sure if the Channellock jazz is a regular ice sculpture or not. Nonetheless, it was really something to see. (I'm almost positive that the boss placed my collage in this paper so you too can see of what I speak.)
There were a few vendor type booths set up in the park as well.
There was an ice sculpture just about every 10 feet or less, set up along the walkway of the park. It was just a really, neat family-friendly event, is the bottom line.
I think that in time it might grow to be as large as the Pumpkin Fest and might have to be held in another location.
I do recall the P. Fest being held downtown and at the winery before it outgrew the space allotted to it.
After I got home and put up a video on YouTube, one of my subscribers, known lovingly as “loungers” on my channel (Lisa Houserman Lounging with Lisa), told me that I should film some of the band that was performing at Station 3.
The reason why she said this was because a member of said band, “D” White, had appeared briefly in one of the videos. He mentioned that they were playing that night, etc., blah, blah and blah.
This time my date was The Child, known as Spencer to most all other people on earth. The Child is back home and will remain until he heads to Alaska again in the spring. We had never gone out to see a band together before so this turned out to be total fun.
The band is called “Repeat Offenders” and is fronted by a charming woman named Amy of Now and Again Gift Shoppe and Boutique, in downtown Conneaut Lake. Boy that is a long last name, huh?
I'm not sure if she is considered to be the front woman or not but she is the main singer and she stands in front so that's good enough for me. (Any band member reading this: Please forgive any errors I made in this piece pertaining to your group. Thank you and stop again.)
Spencer and I had a wonderful time in the hour and a half that we stayed. My bedtime is a lot earlier than it once was so being home by 10 was crucial. If you enjoy music of a classic rock nature, this is the band for you.
On our way home we crossed the street to see the ice sculptures since he wasn't able to attend the actual daytime festivities. It was just interesting to see these displays in the evening hours with the street lights hitting them. The artists who make those are terrific, in my not-so-humble view.
Events like this unfold in most of the little towns in our area. They aren't necessarily ice festivals but there seems to be some kind of happening in every hamlet across the reading area, throughout the year. It's probably a good idea to check one out as they are generally free entertainment. My father told me to never pass up a free meal or free entertainment so there you have that.
I really think that about covers it for the week. I believe a bit of cabin fever was creeping into my life so getting out and about really helped. Stay tuned for next week's column when I return to being super cranky and opinionated to the max.
THE END (Interstate Crosscheck, AIPAC, “War is a Racket,” by General Smedley Butler, “Where did the Towers Go?” by Dr. Judy Wood)