Fire & Ice Festival
February 17 @ 4:00 pm – February 26 @ 4:00 pm
Event Details
When the air gets cold, Lititz heats things up. Our Annual Fire & Ice Festival is winter’s coolest event.
Throughout our 10-day celebration, we’ll have all the Fire & Ice awesomeness you’ve come to expect, like wow-worthy ice sculptures – even more interactive ice in 2023! – yummy food from our downtown restaurants, and on select days, your favorite food trucks. Of course, there will also be plenty of shopping in the warmth of our downtown shops.
What else can you expect? We’re so excited to host our 2nd Annual Winter’s Coolest Night Out, a Fire & Ice preview party featuring live music and a live carving. Stay tuned for info on tickets!
We’re also bringing back the Lititz Lions Chili Cook-Off and the Winter FUNderland event. This kid-focused day will offer activities, bouncy attractions and more for your favorite children. Other returning events will include our scavenger hunt, our photography exhibit highlighting iconic Lititz images, our Maker’s Market, and our unique version of a Fire & Ice themed pub crawl. We’ll give you a card listing all the downtown Lititz bars and restaurants featuring fire or ice themed drinks. Your job? Sample the drinks throughout the week and then vote for your favorite. How cool is that?
Oh, and lest we forget…we’re bringing back the FIRE! On Friday, February 24th and Saturday, February 25th, a nationally renowned fire performer will wow crowds!
Downtown Lititz Map
Fire & Ice fun spreads throughout the entirety of our historic downtown district. Sculptures will be displayed on Main and Broad Streets, as well as on Juniper Lane and at the entrance to Lititz Springs Park. Parking is available on the streets, as well as in parking lots situated behind our shops and restaurants throughout town. On the weekend, you’ll find available parking at the high school and middle school with an easy entrance to the park. Please be mindful not to use our church parking lots on Sundays.
Fire & Ice Highlights
Winter’s Coolest Night Out – A Ticketed Preview Party
Thursday, February 16th, 6 – 9pm | Downtown Lititz
The hottest ticket in town! Winter’s Coolest Night Out is a special launch party for our Fire & Ice Festival, sponsored by our friends at Luther Acres, a Luthercare Community. Get your tickets and be our guest for a live carving, live musical entertainment from Big Boy Brass, and a viewing of our Local Eyes Photography Exhibit. Your ticket entitles you to hors d’oeuvres and one free drink at the Collusion Tap Works bar. Additional food and drinks will be available to purchase. More Info & Tickets
Official Event Kick Off!
Friday, February 17th at 4pm – Sunday, February 26th at 4pm | Downtown Lititz
Starting Friday the 17th at 4pm, the town will be glistening with freshly carved ice sculptures, and we’ll be ready to show it off. Take a stroll, shop the shops, eat at our local restaurants, see the sculptures, and check out our photography exhibit at Lititz Shirt Factory on 5 Juniper Lane, just south of Main Street on Broad Street. Watch carvers work throughout the day on Friday!
Throughout the event, we’ll also have a family-friendly Scavenger Hunt brought to you by our friends at Penn State Health. See if you can conquer the clues and find your way to the finish!
Want to take part in our 10-Day Pub and Town Crawl, sponsored by Welcome Home Real Estate? Stop by any of our participating bars and shops to sample drinks and treats with a Fire & Ice theme. Head over to their event page, linked above, to see the full listing of offerings!
Lititz Lions Chili Cook-Off, Vendor Fair & Kids Carnival!
Saturday, February 18th 11am – 2pm | Warwick High School, Downtown Lititz
Need to warm up? The Lititz Lions are providing all the fire your belly needs with the return of their Chili Cook-Off! Purchase your chili-tasting buttons here and plan to take a break from the cold with some warm chili and some fun activities for your kiddos at the Lititz Leo’s Kids Carnival.
Winter Funderland
Monday, February 20th 11am – 2pm | Lititz Springs Park, Downtown Lititz
This one’s for the kids! They’re off school, so we’re giving them a day that’s super cool thanks to our sponsor, Weaver Energy. We’ll have activities and games in Lititz Springs Park, including a 60-foot-long bouncy obstacle course! We’ll also have fire and ice demonstrations by the Lancaster Science Factory, a performance by the Hooley School of Irish Dance, games, treats, and more!
Lititz Maker’s Market – The Fire & Ice Edition
Saturday & Sunday, February 25th and 26th 11am – 4pm | Linden Hall, Downtown Lititz
Here in Lititz, we love all things local…and we especially love our local artists and makers. This market, sponsored by UPMC – Life Changing Medicine, will showcase their work on a much larger scale than last year. We’ll be in the heated comfort of Linden Hall‘s gymnasium with lots more room to feature the talent that lives in and around Lititz!
Fun & Fire in the Park
February 24th, 25th & 26th | Lititz Springs Park, Downtown Lititz
We’re ending our Fire & Ice Celebration by going from frozen sculptures to fire. This year, we’re looking at fire from a performance perspective and we’re so excited to announce shows on Friday and Saturday evening by world-record-holding fire performer, Aaron Bonk! Best part? Our fire performances will be entirely free! See them at the top of every hour on Friday and Saturday, February 24th and 25th, at 6pm, 7pm, and 8pm. We owe a huge thanks to Stray Production Services for providing the stage, sound, and lighting for these performances.
While fire will rule the nights on our second weekend, art will win the days! We’ll have a new batch of ice sculptures on display throughout town, our UPMC Maker’s Market at Linden Hall, and Interactive Art in the Park, thanks to our friends at Horst Arts.
Sunday FUNday!
Sunday, February 26th, 11 am – 3pm | Lititz Springs Park, Downtown Lititz
On our final Sunday, we’re making it an all-about-fun-day! Thanks to our sponsor, Johnson & Johnson, we’ll host a corn hole tournament put on by our friends at Keystone Cornhole. Look for competitive and just-for-fun divisions. We’ll also dance along to live music, maybe even sing some karaoke, roast marshmallows, snack on cotton candy, play plenty of yard games, and celebrate our awesome, close-knit community. Join us!
Local Eyes Photography Exhibition
During Collusion Tap Works Hours, February 17th – 26th | Lititz Shirt Factory, Downtown Lititz
Grab a drink at Collusion and head upstairs to see the work of Lititz’s most talented photographers. This exhibit, sponsored by Mercedes Benz of Lancaster, is free for the entire community and features iconic images taken in and around our favorite small town.
New this year? Our student division. You’ll be endlessly impressed by the talent of our young photogs and we’re endlessly grateful to our youth show sponsor, Barley Snyder, Attorneys at Law. See their work throughout the festival at Welcome Home Real Estate on 57 East Main Street.
Restaurants & Food Trucks
Cool Town.
Hot Food.
Here’s Where to Fuel Up During Fire & Ice
All the fun at Fire & Ice is sure to work up an appetite. Throughout the event, we encourage you to enjoy our downtown restaurants. For a meal that matches our theme, head to Blackworth Live Fire Grill, where your food is cooked over a crackling wood fire. Reservations here are strongly suggested.
Of course, you’ll probably want to head to the Lititz Springs Inn & Spa for a drink at their ice bar! We recommend stopping by their courtyard for a “frozen” round and then heading inside to the Inn or to the Bulls Head Public House for a warm meal.
The Tied House is another one of our favs. We’re a fan or their Saint Boniface brews and their pub-perfect menu.
Looking for coffee or something more casual? No worries. You’ll find cool sculptures and hot coffee (as well as sandwiches and baked goods) at Slate Cafe and Cafe Arabella on East Main Street, Tomato Pie Cafe on North Broad Street, Dosie Dough on South Broad Street, and a new favorite this year, the endlessly delicious Brazilian Table.
Full List of Lititz Restaurants
Schedule of Food Trucks
On select days throughout the Fire & Ice Festival, we’ll have a Food Truck Food Court – an awesome little location filled with tasty treats. Find the food court off of North Lane, between N Cedar Street and N Broad Street (an easy pedestrian access is directly across the street from the park, beside the Parkview Hotel). The dates are below – soon we’ll add a list of featured trucks!
Friday, February 17th, 5pm-9pm & Saturday, February 18th, 11am-9pm:
Piper Belles
Uncle Paul’s Stuffed Pretzels
Kona Ice
Walk-O Taco
Capt. Crab
Auntie Annes
Philly Cheeseteak on the Roll
Shorty’s Funnel Cakes
Baron Von Schwein
Bucky’s Kettle Corn
Gnaw Jaw
Bricker’s French Fries
Lancaster Burger
Grappling Crab
Sunday, February 19th, 11am-9pm & Monday, February 20th, 11am-5pm:
Shorty’s Funnel Cakes
Auntie Anne’s
Bucky’s Kettle Corn
Shuman’s Concessions
Brewster Bar B Que
Buckwalter’s Smoke Haus
Philly Cheesesteak on the Roll
Uncle Pauls Stuffed Pretzels
Chef Ton’y Food Truck
Friday, February 24th, 5pm-9pm, Saturday, February 25th, 11am-9pm & Sunday, February 26th, 11am-5pm:
Dutch County Concessions
Skips Food Truck
Here We Dough
Funnel Cake Factory
2 Delicious
Bucky’s Kettle Corn
Blazin J’s
Wow Foods
Chanks
Bala Saashas Indian Food
What’s for Supper
Dough Heads Waffles
Hellenic Kouzina
Sponsors
Without the generosity and enthusiasm of our community sponsors, the Lititz Fire & Ice Festival wouldn’t be possible. We’d like to extend a huge thank you to our 2023 sponsors, and to the individuals who donate their time and energy to working on our event committee. From the team at Venture Lititz to all of you – a million thanks!
SPECIAL EVENT SPONSORS: Luther Acres – Winter’s Coolest Night Out Sponsor, Weaver Energy – Winter Funderland Sponsor, Penn State Health – Family Scavenger Hunt Sponsor, UPMC – Life Changing Medicine – Maker’s Market, Heart of Lititz Sponsor, Linden Hall, Maker’s Market Host, Johnson & Johnson – Sunday Funday Sponsor, Discover Lancaster – Presenting Sponsor. Performance & Lighting Sponsor: Stray Production Services – Small Business Sponsor: Garman Builders – Ice Refrigeration Sponsor: FLS Freight Land Sky – Pub & Town Crawl Sponsor: Welcome Home Real Estate, Lititz Office, Entertainment Supporter: Investment Real Estate, LLC.
Local Eyes Photography Exhibition Sponsors: Mercedes Benz of Lancaster, Lititz Art Association, Robert Polett Photography, Barley Snyder Attorneys at Law.
GOLD SPONSORS – Look for GIANT sculptures sponsored by these community supporters: Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, Grace Church Lititz, Rohrer’s Quarry, Lititz Springs Inn & The Bulls Head Public House, Lititz Mutual, Blue Ridge Cable.
SILVER SPONSORS: Hotel Rock Lititz, Jason Burkholder, Realtor, Woodstream
BRONZE SPONSORS: Xfinity, Wilbur Chocolate, Susquehana Insurance, CHARIS Insurance
COPPER SPONSORS: Zest!, Stoll & Wolfe Distillery, Barley Snyder Attorneys at Law, Riptide Car Wash, Pine Hill Builders, GH Mechanical, Jonestown Bank & Trust, Daryl Bollinger, Co., Sunshine Pediatric Dentistry, Bunyaad, Jason Burkholder, Realtor, Blackworth Live Fire Grill.
Donate / Become Sponsor
Interested in donating or becoming an event sponsor?
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
Where do we park? Since we aren’t closing down any streets for this year’s event, metered parking will be available along our streets, as well as in several downtown parking lots. Our side streets aren’t metered and often have plenty of open spaces. You’ll also find open spaces in our church lots. However, please don’t use these lots on Sundays.
What are the hours? Our Fire & Ice sculptures are on display starting February 17th at 4pm and throughout the festival. That said, they’re best viewed during daylight hours. Bonus? You’ll get to drop into our shops and do our scavenger hunt during daylight hours as well. We recommend coming between 10am and 4pm, but we’re certainly happy to receive you before or after!
Where should we stay? Lititz has lots of great lodging options. If you want to be able to walk to all that our downtown has to offer, we recommend The Wilbur Hotel, Lititz Springs Inn and Spa, The Alden House, and Lititz Suites on Main. Just a mile and half away is the rock-and-roll chic Hotel Rock Lititz. For a full list of hotels in the surrounding area, click here.
Are there public restrooms? Yes! There are public restrooms at the Lititz Welcome Center – at the entrance of Lititz Springs Park. We’ll also have additional bathrooms available just off of East Main Street on South Sturgis Lane and at our Food Truck Food Court, across from the park and also accessible off of North Lane.
Is this a family friendly event? Absolutely! However, please do be careful that your children don’t attempt to climb or play on the ice sculptures. They are definitely not meant to be leaned on!
Is this a dog friendly event? We strongly discourage bringing your pup. Although we’re huge fans of our furry friends, we think it’s best for everyone if they stay home. Why? Because leashes and ice sculptures don’t get along. There have been incidences when an owner on one side of a sculpture and a dog on another leads to catastrophe. We also know that crowds can tend to stress out even the most laid back dogs. If you do bring Fido, please help us by being super vigilant and absolutely leave your retractable leashes at home.