This month, Richmond, Indiana, is once again transforming its downtown and Depot District into an icy wonderland for its annual Meltdown Winter Ice Festival — a festival with so much ice it could make Elsa jealous.
About an hour-and-a-half drive from Cincinnati, Richmond has been putting on the Meltdown Winter Ice Festival since 2013. From Thursday, Jan. 30 to Saturday, Feb. 1, professional ice carvers and artists will turn over 20,000 pounds of ice into incredible sculptures and masterpieces for visitors to enjoy.
The festival will also feature plenty of music, food and drink, kid-friendly activities and even “ice fights.” But one of the biggest events is the Meltdown Throwdown: a competition where two teams of skilled ice carvers will duke it out on stage to create the best sculpture the fastest, and the crowd will serve as the judges.
The 2024 Meltdown Winter Ice Festival will include a chili cook-off, an ice cream-eating contest and fireworks, plus plenty of food trucks. If you need to warm up, the Joseph Moore Museum will be hosting an event where you can learn more about the Ice Age giants that once roamed Indiana and see fossil skeletons firsthand. There will also be activity stations and crafts on ice science, and admission is free.
Meltdown Winter Ice Festival is free and runs Thursday-Saturday, Jan. 30-Feb. 1. You can find the festival at the Jack Elstro Plaza at 47 N. Sixth St. More info: richmondmeltdown.com.
This article appears in Dec 27, 2023 – Jan 9, 2024.
