Ice Harvest Festival at Hanford Mills Museum February 7, 2015 [Video]

The first Saturday in February, people from across the region bundle up and head to Hanford Mills Museum for its annual Ice Harvest Festival.  Using historic tools, children and adults can walk out on the frozen mill pond to cut and maneuver blocks of ice.  The ice blocks are pushed up a ramp and then loaded onto sleds, which are hauled to a traditional ice house.

The Ice Harvest Festival, which runs 10 am–4 pm on February 7, 2015, includes a variety of indoor and outdoor activities.  The SUNY Delhi Hospitality Center Ice Team will be making ice sculptures.  The Dave Brandt Chapter of Trout Unlimited will teach visitors how to ice fish on the mill pond.  Visitors can warm up by outdoor fire pits, and also at the soup buffet, which features soups from area restaurants.  At the Hanford House, which shows family life in the 1920s, visitors can play tabletop games and see historic cooking demonstrations.  Throughout the day, films of ice harvests from the1920s-1940s will be screened.  The festival also includes horse-drawn sleigh rides and blacksmithing

The ice harvested at the festival will be used to make ice cream at the Museum’s Independence Day Celebration on July 4.

Admission and Information: Children 12 and under receive free admission. Admission for adults and teens is $9; senior admission is $7. AAA and other discounts available. Museum members receive free admission. Those living in zip codes (13757, 13739, 13786, 13750, and 13806) neighboring Hanford Mills also receive free admission.  This event is wheelchair accessible.

Hanford Mills Museum is located at 51 County Highway 12 in East Meredith, at the intersection of Delaware County Routes 10 & 12, just 10 miles from Oneonta, and 15 miles from Delhi. For more information, visit www.hanfordmills.org or call 607-278-5744.