32nd annual Medina Ice Festival begins, Fire and Ice Tower delayed due to wind gusts

MEDINA — While the 32nd annual Medina Ice Festival's sculptures were on display Friday night, its annual Fire and Ice Tower display was delayed until today due to 40-mph wind gusts. On Friday afternoon, the city of Medina and Fire Chief Larry Walters said that the display would be delayed from Friday to tonight for the safety of spectators. The Fire and Ice Tower is now planned for 7 p.m. today. The four-day-long ice festival is hosted by Elegant Ice Creations, which hosts the event and also creates each ice sculpture seen on the square. The company has been a part of the Medina Ice Festival since its creation, carving the sculptures and later becoming the host. Elegant Ice Creations schedules ice festivals throughout the country, with Medina's always held the third weekend in February. Through Monday, people can wander the pathways through Medina's square to get a closer look. In addition to looking at and interacting with the ice sculptures, people can enjoy the food vendors set up and stop in to Medina's storefronts, many of which will have extended hours for the festival. There will also be an individual ice carving competition from noon to 5 p.m. today and a team ice carving competition from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. With the sculptures now up, visitors can come and look at them at any time of day or night, as LED lights have been placed underneath them to brighten them at night. Once the sculpture is in place, it will stay there until it melts. According to the National Weather Service Cleveland, today's weather is expected to be mostly cloudy with a high near 38 degrees. There is a chance of snow showers after 1 a.m. with new snow accumulation of less than a half-inch possible. On Sunday, snow showers are forecast with a high near 34 degrees and a low around 25 degrees. Snow showers remain likely through Monday morning, with a high near 29 degrees and a low around 18 that evening. To learn more about the Medina Ice Festival, visit www.mainstreetmedina.com/medina-ice-festival. Contact reporter Sara Crawford at (330) 721-4063 or scrawford@medina-gazette.com.