Jennifer Saunders owns a Scranton cafe that serves tea and a shop devoted to reducing wasteful packaging. After Downtown on Ice set a movie theme, her assignment was clear.
When the festival begins Friday, an ice sculpture of Mary Poppins in flight will be in front of Northern Light Espresso Bar and Cafe and one of the Lorax, a protector of the trees, will be at the Little Wild Refillery.
There will be over 45 sculptures in 30 blocks of center city Friday through Sunday for Scranton Tomorrow’s ice festival. The annual event brings fun and foot traffic, with crowds that sightsee, watch performances and take in family activities among shopping and dining specials.
Downtown on Ice: Ice. Camera. Action, kicks off Friday, from 5 to 9 p.m.; continues Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and wraps up Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Clarks Summit holds its own ice festival the following weekend, with an ocean theme.
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Elijah Hogan of Milford from Lakeville-based Sculpted Ice Works carves an ice elephant in front of Jennifer’s Hair Studio on Linden Street in downtown Scranton during the Scranton Ice Festival in 2024. STAFF
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Evan Hughes of Olyphant makes an ice carving of a penguin outside Everything Natural on State Street in Clarks Summit on the first day of the Clarks Summit Festival of Ice on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023.
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Jake Danna Stevens / Staff Photographer Kate Miller, with the Clarks Summit Fire Company, carves a shamrock during a previous Clarks Summit Festival of Ice.STAFF
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A previous Clarks Summit ice festival (Abington Business and Professional Association)
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Virginia Kramer of Scranton, competes with her family members on an outdoor curling rink in Center Street in downtown Scranton during the Scranton Ice Festival on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022 STAFF PHOTO
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Evan Hughes of Olyphant creates ice sculptures that will be tributes to the police and firefighters in the back of POSH at the Scranton Club in downtown Scranton during a previous ice festival in Scranton. Sean McKeag / Staff Photographer
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Elijah Hogan of Milford from Lakeville-based Sculpted Ice Works carves an ice elephant in front of Jennifer’s Hair Studio on Linden Street in downtown Scranton during the Scranton Ice Festival in 2024. STAFF
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In Scranton, at 536 Biden St., Saunders expects to unveil her Mary Poppins-themed window displays at Northern Light Expresso Bar and Cafe on Monday. “I’m just a big Julie Andrews fan,” she said. Actually, “The Sound of Music” is her favorite Andrews’ movie. “Mary Poppins” won out because of the tea party scenes and the movie’s fun atmosphere.
“I hope it makes people happy,” Saunders said. She is extending the cafe’s hours and featuring a hot drink called London fog, made with Earl Gray tea, steamed milk and a choice of syrups.
Downtown on Ice events include the return of a rink for curling, the ice game familiar from the Olympics, and an ice bar for drinks, both hosted by Bartari, on Center Street.
New this year: a virtual reality ice carving simulation activity created by the Marywood University School of Architecture, on the Biden Street side of Courthouse Square. It will be housed in a hut that was used for a holiday market earlier this winter. Lackawanna County lent huts to shelter entertainers at four locations.
Carving of a super-sized ice structure will go on during the day Friday, in the 300 block of Penn Avenue, creating a selfie spot by the time the festival opens at 5 p.m. Eight businesses teamed up to sponsor a larger-than-life piece with a secret cinema theme.
The live ice carving schedule for Friday evening is: at 5 p.m., in front of the main entrance of the Marketplace at Steamtown; and at 7:30 p.m. on the Courthouse Square side of the 200 block of North Washington Avenue.
On Saturday, carving will be done at 10 a.m. in the 500 block of Biden Street on the Courthouse Square side; at noon, at Lavish Scranton, 200 Adams Ave.; at 2 p.m. at the Christopher A. Doherty Pocket Park at Wyoming Avenue and Linden Street; and at 4 near the “Office” mural in the 500 block of Lackawanna Avenue.
Entertainment will go on all weekend, at the main stage on Courthouse Square, and other locations. Strolling performers, such as jugglers and princesses, will be throughout downtown.
Prizes will be awarded for a digital scavenger hunt contest, earning “FrostBites” by scanning QR codes on sculptures.
The schedule will be updated at scrantonice.com and on social media.
In Clarks Summit, the Festival of Ice: Under the Sea, is Friday, Jan. 24 through Sunday, Jan. 26.
A parade down State Street, with floats and the Abington Heights marching band, is Jan. 24 at 6:30 p.m.
The Electric City Aquarium & Reptile Den will display aquatic invertebrates, such as upside down jellyfish and arrow crabs at Crystal Conclusion, Zimmerman Street, on Jan. 25, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will also have artifacts, such as shark teeth.
Brook Valley Farm will offer carriage rides Jan. 25, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. the following day. The festival is organized by the Abington Business and Professional Association.