The event will feature more than 25 ice sculptures created by local artist Peter Slavin at various bars and businesses around Fishtown including Garage, Sancho Pistola’s, Johnny Brenda’s and more.
The creators of Fishtown FestivAle are back with a new, fun, all-day event for all Fishtowners to enjoy, and it’s called Fishtown Freeze.
“It’s just about trying to create a day for folks to get out in the cold season and do fun holiday activities,” said Renee Gillinger, consultant for the Fishtown Co. business association and event producer for Fishtown Freeze. Fishtown Co. is the organization responsible for putting on the event. The event will take place from 9 a.m. until midnight on Saturday, Dec. 8. Admission is 100 percent free.
The event will feature more than 25 ice sculptures created by local artist Peter Slavin at various bars and businesses around Fishtown, including Garage, Sancho Pistola’s, Johnny Brenda’s and more. All of the pre-made ice sculptures will have been custom designed by each business. In addition to these pre-made ice sculptures, three live ice sculpture carvings will occur at SugarHouse Casino, Lutheran Settlement House and Suraya, a new Lebanese cafe that opened in the neighborhood this year.
“Those are live and interactive and really fun for kids,” Gillinger said. “They’ll spray kids with snow and the kids get really into it.”
Santa will make appearances at SugarHouse from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Frankford Hall. He’ll be available for photos at both places, and breakfast will be served at the SugarHouse event. Admission to both events is free.
The event will be primarily family-oriented in the day, but will feature a neighborhood-wide cocktail crawl at night, where local bars will feature special cocktails for the night.
At Lutheran Settlement House, local committeewoman Venise Whitaker will run a hot chocolate stand with all proceeds benefiting Lutheran Settlement House, a multi-faceted organization that works to improve the lives of seniors, women who have been subjected to domestic abuse, homeless people and more.
The event is a spinoff of similar ice sculpture-oriented events Slavin’s artwork has appeared in in other neighborhoods such as Manayunk and East Passyunk.
“It’s super cool,” Gillinger said of the event. “Forgive the pun.”
For more information about the festival, visit the Fishtown Freeze Facebook page.
