February 9, 2023
Ice A – Fair
By: Executive Director, Ashley Basile Oeken
Last summer I was introduced to an adorable small lake town to the west of Cleveland, Vermillion. Vermillion’s town slogan is “A Small Town on a Great Lake” and it rings true. The quaint downtown has lakefront access to Lake Erie with lots of small shops and restaurants to boot. My family spent the day exploring and thoroughly enjoyed our time there.
I hadn’t thought about Vermillion lately as it is winter and colder weather has made its appearance. That is until I saw a unique attraction happening in Vermillion in the dead of winter. Ice A Fair takes place throughout the downtown area and features over 50 ice sculptures, ice carving demonstrations and a kids play area. I knew I wanted to take my family to scope it out.
We made the short ½ hour drive to Vermillion Saturday afternoon. Upon arrival, parking was a tad challenging, but soon we were parked and on our way inside. The ice sculptures were creative and gorgeous including mermaids, seahorses and more. The sculptures lined the streets of downtown and provided an opportunity to pick favorites and take photos.
On one corner of downtown was a kids area. The area was definitely a favorite of my two kids, ages 4 and 6. They went down the ice slide over and over again smiling each and every time. I saw a lot of older kids enjoying it too. There was also an ice sculpture to sit on for a photo prop.. But beware…it was very slippery.
As we walked throughout the downtown area, we stopped at a few local shops including Brewed Awakening for some hot cocoa, Poppin’ Around for some popcorn and Brummer’s for chocolate. Each shop was busier than the one before it, but the employees were doing their best to make wait times reasonable. Each shop had its own unique vibe and seemed to be perfect for this small beach town. We enjoyed walking the rest of the way with our hot cocoa in tow and with a few yummy snacks as well.
Whether summer or winter, this cute beach town has a lot to offer. Definitely check it out and plan for a day of fun and sightseeing.
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