Cool festival looks for warm-hearted support

Wayne County’s annual Meltdown ice festival is warmly received by residents and visitors, but additional sources of cold, hard cash are being sought to provide the frosty fun. 

Most activities will take place Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 at Jack Elstro Plaza in downtown Richmond after a few preliminary events around town. 

Alison Zajdel, one of the festival’s volunteer coordinators, said organizers hope to connect with additional businesses and individuals to cover the event’s rising costs.

About $60,000 is needed for the large blocks of ice and paying the world-class carvers for a week of work and their travel costs. That cost is a few thousand dollars lower because Richmond’s Best Western donates the carvers’ lodging, Zajdel said. 

Committee members are optimistic that the county’s business owners will “join in the fun,” she said. 

Organizers also hope to attract families to contribute at a new sponsorship level of $250 called Frosty Friends. They’ll receive swag and perks such as having their picture shown on a big screen before and after the festival’s main event. 

Zajdel said the committee doesn’t have a reserve pool of funds and spends what it raises each year.  

If it’s going to offer an ice festival, the community wants “the best of the best” carvers to create unique sculptures, she said. 

Surprisingly, last year’s warm, wet and windy weather didn’t deter crowds, Zajdel said. Hundreds of people gathered for the Throwdown carving competition. Despite holding umbrellas, it was one of the rowdiest crowds to cheer on the carvers, she said. 

Zajdel said businesses and organizations around the county are encouraged to offer special events and promotions. The committee will promote those activities in advance on the festival’s website, richmondmeltdown.com, when notified.