22nd Annual Heart of Lewisburg Ice Festival Feb. 6-8 Showcases Sculptures, Races

Downtown Lewisburg is alive with ice sculptures, races and family events as the 22nd Annual Heart of Lewisburg Ice Festival runs Feb. 6–8. Market Street, Hufnagle Park and several downtown venues are staging demonstrations, races, screenings and social events that are expected to concentrate visitors and spending across the borough’s retail and hospitality corridor.

Friday morning began with Bucknell University’s men’s crew team installing ice sculptures along Market Street, an early visual anchor that organizers hope will draw people into shop windows and cafés. Friday night features the 4th Annual Ice Festival Sip & Shop from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at multiple downtown locations, a timed window designed to extend retail hours and support small-business sales during a traditionally slow season.

Saturday is the festival’s busiest day. The Frosty 5K, hosted by Sunset Rotary, opens registration at 8:00 a.m. and begins at 9:30 a.m., with the course starting and finishing at the Campus Theatre. Live ice carving demonstrations begin at 10:00 a.m. in Hufnagle Park, where professional sculptors will work on large sponsored carvings provided by WellSpan Health, Geisinger, UPMC, Service 1st and Weis Markets. The Lewisburg Children’s Museum will run hands-on activities in Hufnagle Park from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and a Handmade Parade leads into the afternoon schedule.

A high-profile spectacle is the Polar Bear Plunge, set for 2:30 p.m. on Saturday with a parade immediately before the plunge. Local restaurants and event spaces are staging lead-in social programming, with Brasserie Louis and Stillwater Spa & Events hosting pre-plunge parties and Bull Run Taphouse running a chili cookoff. The Campus Theatre is also part of the family lineup, showing two free films, Happy Feet and Cool Runnings, to keep families downtown between live events.

Sunday wraps the festival with downtown brunch options and an Ice Festival Slow Roll bicycle ride at 1:00 p.m., weather permitting. The Market Street address at Market Street, Lewisburg, PA 17837, and multiple venues across Sixth Street and the downtown district form the geographic footprint of activities. For full event details and ticketing, the Lewisburg Downtown Partnership maintains the official festival event page.

Economically, the festival reinforces a long-term pattern in Union County: seasonal festivals extend the tourist and retail season beyond summer months and concentrate weekend spending in downtown districts. The 22nd consecutive year signals institutional stability and investor confidence, illustrated by sponsorship from regional health systems and grocery partners. Bucknell’s participation and the Sunset Rotary’s race management underline a public-private mix that reduces municipal fiscal burden while leveraging community organizations to deliver programming.

For residents, the festival increases foot traffic, offers free and low-cost family options, and provides a promotional window for small-business owners during winter. Visitors should plan for busy sidewalks around Hufnagle Park and the Campus Theatre, and check the Lewisburg Downtown Partnership event page for any last-minute updates, film showtimes or weather contingencies for Sunday’s Slow Roll. The weekend’s events offer a short-term economic lift and reinforce Lewisburg’s reputation as a four-season destination for community festivals.