Presidents Day Weekend Winter Festival
This weekend was the Presidents Day Weekend Winter Festival in Mayville, NY. The highlight of the festival, at least for Bob and me, is the castle made of ice blocks. Bob and I attended this year’s festival yesterday afternoon.
As we approached Mayville, traffic slowed down a lot. We were turned away from two parking lots because they were full. We lucked out with the third parking lot. We were one of the last cars admitted into the lot. This parking lot was most convenient, as it was across the street from the ice castle.
As I prepared to take my first picture of the ice castle, I discovered that I did not have a memory card inserted in my camera. I have two memory cards, but I did not have the spare card with me either. I didn’t even have my iPhone with me. I didn’t have any way to take pictures. I felt like crying. We didn’t want to throw away the $5.00 we had paid to park, nor did we want to lose our parking place. Bob to the rescue. He suggested that we walk up the hill to where Route 394 intersects with Route 430. It was likely that I would find an SD card at the drug store or grocery store at the top of the hill. It was a 1-mile hike up the hill. We found an SD card at Rite Aid. I now own three SD cards, two 8GB cards and the new 4GB card. I plan to keep the 4GB inside my camera bag for the next time I forget to insert a memory card in my camera!
In addition to getting an SD card, the walk to Rite Aid and back down to Chautauqua Lake provided another advantage. It was the first time Bob and I navigated that portion of the road on foot. There are several beautiful houses along the way. I took pictures of some of the houses on our walk back to the lake.
Once we reached Chautauqua Lake, I found more photo opportunities.
Snowmobiles
Lighthouse
Airplane
I saw the airplane taxiing across the frozen lake, as we were walking down the hill.
According to an article that I read on GoErie.com, this year’s ice castle is about 15 feet high, 80 feet long and 30 feet deep.
The ice castle was built alongside Chautauqua Belle’s winter dock.
Bob and I at Ice Castle
A lot of snow had to be moved to make room for parking at the Mayville Lakeside Park. There were several giant snow piles located throughout the park.
The snow piles made great slides for the children (and adults)!
Elsewhere in the park we admired wooden sculptures carved by chainsaw.
Wood Sculpture
Wood Sculpture
Wood Sculpture
Wood Sculpture
We also watched a girl use a chainsaw, as she transformed a nondescript block of wood into the shape of an owl.
A wood sculpture of an owl
Yesterday was not the first time we have seen an ice castle at Mayville. If you would like to see photographs I have taken of past year’s ice castles, you may do so by clicking here.
When we departed Mayville, we went by way of Route 430. We stopped at Bob Evans in Jamestown, where we enjoyed delicious fish entrees for dinner.
The Beauty Around Us 
3 Responses to “Presidents Day Weekend Winter Festival”
What a fun festival. The ice castle is cool and I love the sculptures. Great photos, Linda!
Definitely a “Day to Remember” 😉 Loved reading your post and the pictures!
Your photos from the ice festival are marvelous Linda. I felt for you when you discovered you didn’t have a memory card in your camera. I have done that myself, a couple of times. Hopefully there won’t be a third. I often say things work out because you got to see those wonderful houses. It also reinforces our desire never to be in the situation again where we won’t find ourselves without our memory card. Extra batteries too. I have sometimes forgotten to charge my camera. I now have extras. Thank you for sharing these fantastic photos. It looks like a very memorable ice-festival and I shall enjoy checking out your link. Have a great week!