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Why have an ice festival in Old Colorado City? “Because it’s cold in January,” says Charlie Irwin, who heads the quaint shopping district’s merchants’ association. “It seemed like something that would work well with the weather — although last year, it was 60 degrees all weekend.” But even under those balmy circumstances, the inaugural fest in 2009 drew around 17,000 folks to the stretch of West Colorado Avenue between 24th and 28th streets, near Manitou Springs. And this year, he promises, the Ice on the Avenue Ice Festival is bigger and better, with a walk-through ice castle with ice slides for the kids, glacial king’s and queen’s thrones for picture-taking, a family-friendly drink luge and even a slick ice bowling alley, along with more typical merchant-sponsored ice sculptures.
Slide into the ice fest starting at 10 a.m. today and tomorrow; admission is free, and food and drink are available from local restaurants or food vendors. Get information at www.shopoldcoloradocity.com.
Sat., Jan. 16; Sun., Jan. 17, 2010
