BELFAST—Rounding the corner to March, thousands of people packed the streets of Belfast for the annual Belfast Ice Festival on Saturday, February 28. And with a balmy 45 degrees and sunshine, the 25-30 ice sculptures positioned around town might not have loved the weather, but the community sure did.

The weekend event, spanning  Feb. 27 to March 1 was jam-packed with all sorts of creative events, from live music and pub crawls to balls and dance parties. Several restaurants around town set up ice bars and patio bars for the public offering specialty winter-themed cocktails. 

Nautilus had a tented outside bar serving beer on draft, along with drink specials and canned ciders.

"I feel like getting toward the end of winter, everybody wants to get outside and we've been blessed with amazing weather today," said co-owner Shawna Aitken, who worked the outside bar as people enjoyed drinks and warming stations.

Front Street Pub was serving Ghost tequila spicy margaritas in their own to-go specialty bulb cups, along with a Mexican chocolate martini with a chocolate rim on a tiny sipping souvenir cup. While the drinks weren't hot, the ghost peppers in the tequila warmed the palate nicely.

"It's such a beautiful day; everyone is coming out," said Katherine Loblein, co-owner of Front Street Pub, who was on hand to serve the public.

One bystander double-fisting both the margarita and the chocolate, chimed in.

"This is actually my fifth Ice Festival," said Carolina, of Winterport. "I come here every year and go around to all the local businesses, like the cheese shop, and Vinolio, and support them.  I like that they have the ice bars and the ice sculptures the most. This is one of the best years ever."  

Darby's Restaurant set up an ice bar with a firepit extending out into the street with folks lined up to purchase spicy Bloody Marys, warmed wine, and hot cider with or without alcohol.

"The outdoor bar concept originated during COVID-19, just as a way to get outside, said co-owner Cory Chase. "But, now it's stuck around. The weather is phenomenal for spectators, but the ice bar is taking a bit of a hit."

The Belfast Community Co-op also had a hot cocoa bar with all the toppings available.

The day was kid-friendly and-dog-friendly with plenty of fun things to do and see around town, such as cornhole and games in the lot beside Delvino's Grill & Pasta House, where they also had an outdoor bar with long lines.

"This year was the biggest turnout we've ever had," said Ryleigh McFadden, Assistant Manager of Delvino's. "It's the most amount of people I've seen in Belfast since a summer day."

They served a Ghost Tequila Margarita and an Absolut and Tobasco Bloody Mary.

As for the ice sculptures, there was plenty to see. Three live carvings were done throughout Saturday at various downtown locations. Saturday also showcased the Annual State of Maine Ice Carving Competition in the empty lot between Traci’s Diner and Renew ME Spa.

"We have amateur and professional carvers take a block of ice and just create something out of it," said Amanda Cunningham, Our Town Belfast Executive Director. "This year we have two 13-year-olds competing, as well."

Jay Bluck took first place with his ice carving of a turtle.

"I've been carving for about 13 years and just wanted to do something new from last year, which was a fish and The Bumble [a character from the animation Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]," he said. "We like to do carvings that are kid-friendly."

"This is a huge economic boost for downtown Belfast," said Cunningham. "It's been very slow from January into February, and about 4,000 people who come into town and visit our restaurants and stores really boost these businesses up, giving them one of the best days of their whole year."

For more information visit: ourtownbelfast.org/ice festival

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com