Plymouth Ice Show

Living in Michigan we are very lucky to enjoy four solid seasons...even though there are plenty of times I complain about snow or humidity or tornadoes or whatever else, I really do love it. One of the cool things we have is the ability to have an outdoor festival in the winter. This weekend we went to the annual Ice Show in Plymouth. I think I might have gone once when I was a little girl, but can't be positive. Needless to say, we wanted to take the kids, so off we went! We finally had some snow on Friday, but Saturday was a beautiful crisp sunny day. It was about 25* outside, but with the sun shining and no wind, it was a great day to be outside.
The ice sculptures were beautiful:

We were so bundled up we could have been mistaken for Randy in "A Christmas Story"!

The kids loved watching the sculptors work:

We made a quick pit stop to share a delicious Elephant Ear...oh my, it's been YEARS since I had one and it was sooooo good! It filled the whole plate, but this was what it was reduced to by the time I thought to snap a picture!

They had a spot where kids could try their hand at "skiing"...more cross country I guess, since there really weren't hills, but for my kids, who haven't been on skis before, this was quite an adventure!

We made it home, tired and chilled, but full of very happy memories. We will definitely have to go again next year!

One of the other big events in the area this time of year is the North American International Auto Show, held in Detroit annually. We had hoped to make it there this year (again, I haven't been since I was a kid), but we just didn't make it. Hopefully next year!

Do you have any local festivals unique to your area? Any recommendations on some to check out if we take a road trip? I'd love to start a list!