PLYMOUTH (WWJ) - While rain on Friday afternoon made artists dive to cover their creations, much colder air will move in just in time, creating the perfect whimsical setting to host the Plymouth Ice Festival.
World-class ice sculptors will be featured at the event which starts Friday, Feb. 11 through Sunday, Feb. 13. Over 60 ice carvings will be available for viewing 24 hours throughout downtown Plymouth -- the pieces will be displayed in front of shops, restaurants and along sidewalks.
WWJ's Zach Clark was on scene Friday afternoon, talking to sculptors as they chiseled into blocks of ice and used irons to create intricate butterflies, lady bugs and gem stones.
Artist Benjamin Goebel, owner of Top Shelf Ice in Whitmore Lake, said it was this every event that made him discover his love of ice sculpting when he was younger.
"I actually remember coming to this park as a child and was absolutely blown away by it," Goebel said.
Goebel spent most of his adult career as a chef before COVID allowed him to step away from the kitchen and pursue his dream of carving ice.
“It’s just an inspiration for whatever is going on in my life," Goebel explained of his work. "It kind of just comes.”
He told WWJ's Zach Clark that pieces he is was currently chiseling away at on Friday were the "tip of iceberg." He said his other competition pieces are much more grand -- not that the 5,000lbs sculpture he was working on wasn't.
“It’s much more risky,” he said of his competition sculptures. “This is more something to look at – a showpiece.”
When he is not sculpting for festivals and competitions, Goebel's business is busy preparing ice creations for weddings, county clubs, sororities and private parties for the holidays.
You can view Goebel's work this weekend along with over 60 sculptures in downtown Plymouth.
To find out more about this year's event, please visit the official Plymouth Ice Festival homepage.