Ice carvings, of course, are always a highlight of the annual Festival of Ice. Here a man dressed as the Batman character ‘The Joker’ does a ice carving demonstration during the annual parade at a previous ice festival.
Submitted photo
Festival has become annual family affair for area chef
CLARKS SUMMIT — Like many families in the Clarks Summit area, Brian Griguts attends the ice festival every year.
“It’s such a great thing. It gets everybody out. Artists are able to showcase their artwork,” he said. “There’s a lot of great businesses here and people who don’t normally come downtown, get to see these businesses.”
He pointed out that the event isn’t exclusively in Clarks Summit. There are some businesses outside the downtown area that also participate.”
Griguts learned ice carving about 25 years ago from the head of the culinary department at Lackawanna College in Scranton.
“I’ve done countless art carvings,” he said.
And, although Griguts doesn’t concern himself skilled enough to participate in the festival, he does think that it has provided him with a true appreciation of what goes into an ice sculpture.
“I’ve got some talent but the artists at the festival go above and beyond my capabilities,” he said. “I got into it just because I’m a chef.”
Ice carving, he emphasized, isn’t easy.
“You really have to think, because you have all these big square pieces of ice and you have to look at it and ask, ‘What is this going to be in the end?’” he said.
The ice has to be cold, but not so cold that it will crack.
Having people watch you craft the ice is also stressful, he said.
He pointed out that the large sculptures at the festival make several blocks necessary, making it necessary to sculpt them on site.
Griguts, who has a prosthetic leg, said there is not only plenty of parking, but plenty of handicapped parking.
“I can’t say enough about Clarks Summit,” he said. “Its a great mix of older and newer businesses.”
Griguts attends the event every year with his wife and his two sons.
They spend several hours at the event, and always get something to eat before going home.
Many people, he said, spent a lot of time indoors and inactive during the pandemic.
The ice festival provides a chance to get up and get moving during a season when people tend to spend a lot of time staring at the televeison.
“People need to start moving again,” he said.
Because Griguts has some experience in ice carving, he is always interested in new techniques involving the craft.
He said he has seen colored ice sculptures before, but is looking forward to seeing colored ice sculptures at the Clarks Summit even this year for the first time.
Griguts said although the festival is a celebration of winter, it also has another benefit for him.
“The festival signals that winter is nearly over and that spring is coming,” he said, laughing.
