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Heart of Lewisburg Ice Festival

LEWISBURG — Almost 30 ice sculptures line Market Street in Lewisburg as part of the 13th annual Heart of Lewisburg Ice Festival. Over the years the ice fe...

LEWISBURG -- Almost 30 ice sculptures line Market Street in Lewisburg as part of the 13th annual Heart of Lewisburg Ice Festival.

Over the years the ice festival put Lewisburg on the map as a place with fun winter activities. It brings in hundreds of people, including the Beishline family of Bloomsburg.

"We come every year. We like to just take the day and just come and look at all the different ice sculptures," Megan Beishline said.

Many businesses participate in the festival by sponsoring an ice sculpture.

"The ice festival always brings out a lot of people to town and we like to be involved in the community, so of course we want to be a part of it," Julie Stefan said.

But of course the main attraction is Jared McAlister. He carved all of the ice sculptures at this year's festival, but the one in Hufnagle Park is the biggest and most time consuming. He calls it the Grizzly Bear Chair.

"We like to call it the hug chair because it will look like you're sitting in the grizzly bear's lap and he's giving you a big hug," McAlister said.

McAlister's carving drew a large crowd.

"We were interested in seeing how it's actually done. I've seen it on TV but I've never seen it live," Nancy Tobin said.

It's not just ice that draws people to the ice festival. There's also a frosty 5k, a polar bear plunge, a chocolate tasting tour, and discounted shopping.

"It's good for 15 percent off one item in each store," Stefan said.

And while people are shopping they get to admire all of the ice sculptures along Market Street. The Heart of Lewisburg Ice Festival runs through Saturday night and most of the stores along Market Street are staying open late.

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