19th Annual Hunter Ice Festival in Niles
2023 HUNTER ICE FESTIVAL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS *More events will be added
FRIDAY JANUARY 6
8am-10am-ICE ARRIVES brought by @RXO Express XPO
MONDAY JANUARY 9 through THURSDAY JANUARY 12
Carving Begins
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11
10a-5p Homestory Vintage Winter Market
THURSDAY JANUARY 12
11a-8p Homestory Vintage Winter Market
FRIDAY JANUARY 13
10am – 5pm Shelf Life – Community Bookstore Opens GIANT BOOK SALE
10a-5p Homestory Vintage Winter Market
5pm – 7pm Hunter Ice Cream Booth – south side of Main 100 block
After 5pm Sponsored sculptures placed throughout downtown
7:30pmish Fire & Ice in Riverfront Park behind Wonderland Cinema
SATURDAY JANUARY 14
9am @Life Plan Frigid 5K Start Time
10am – 4pm Multi-Block sculptures carved LIVE throughout downtown
10am – 4pm Hunter Photo Booth at On Base Productions
10a-4p Homestory VintageWinter Market
10am – 5pm Shelf Life Bookstore Opens GIANT BOOK SALE
Noon – 7pm Hunter Ice Cream Booth- south side of Main 100 block
1:30pm – 4:30pm Beer & Wine tasting at Front Street Pizza Pub – 520 Front
2pm-4pm Baby Cakes Cupcake Contest at @The Rage – 219 N Front St
7:30pmish Speed Carving at the Amphitheater in Riverfront Park
All Day Interactive Ice Park on Main between Bridge & Front Street
Ice Toboggan Hill @ Riverfront Park sponsored by @The Childrens Center Niles
SUNDAY JANUARY 15
9am-2pm Brunch Buffett Jim’s Smokin’ Cafe – 220 E Main St
11a-3p Homestory Vintage Winter Market
11am – 4pm Hunter Ice Cream Booth- south side of Main 100 block
Noon – 4pm Shelf Life – Community Bookstore Opens GIANT BOOK SALE- 223 N 4th Street
All Day Interactive Ice Park on Main between Bridge & Front Street
Ice Toboggan Hill @ Riverfront Park sponsored by @The Children’s Center
Apothica Teas will have a Hunter Ice Express Station with 3 different warm beverages ready to grab and go!!
On Base Productions is celebrating their 5-year anniversary during Hunter this year! Stop by for their photo booth, and some live music!
**More events to come!
- Who: City of Niles
- What: Hunter Ice Festival
- When: Friday, January 13, 2023 through Sunday, January 15, 2023
- Where: Downtown Niles, MI
About Hunter Ice Festival: The Hunter Ice Festival is held each year in downtown Niles during the month of January. The festival pays tribute to the great history of our area’s Hunter Brothers Ice and Ice Cream Company, which not only created the best ice cream at the turn of the century, but also cut ice blocks out of Barron Lake and shipped it throughout the land. The festival showcases more than 150 ice sculptures situated all over the downtown area and created on site by well known ice carvers from near and far. The weekend festivities include a timed sculpting competition held at the Riverfront Amphitheater and sanctioned by the National Ice Carving Association (NICA), a special historical Hunter Brothers History Exhibit held at the Niles District Library, a reproduction of the famous Hunter Ice Cream to tempt your taste buds and a fun filled Kids Art Activities Warming Station with awards, face painting, crafts, balloon animals and more. Downtown merchants offer free hot refreshments in their “warming stations” along with special festival sales and promotions. Please join us each year for the beauty and wonderment of the Hunter Ice Festival. The Hunter Ice Festival is sponsored by Niles DDA Main Street. For more information contact Lisa Croteau at 269-687-4332.
Website: www.nilesmi.org/business/niles_dda_main_street/hunter_ice_festival/
The Buchanan Chronicle 