Mark your calendars because the 2024 Fire & Ice Festival DE by Quiet Resorts, is coming up this weekend. An annual event to melt the chill away from those mundane winter blues, here’s your chance to get out of the house and enjoy three days of ongoing fun on the East Coast. From ice sculpture tours to live carving demos, bonfires, entertainment, inflatables, skating, and more, you’re not going to want to miss the 2024 Fire & Ice DE.
As the festival name confirms, ice is an important featured mainstay medium. And with every annual installment, guests get to immerse themselves in plenty of “cool” ice-carved concoctions. This year’s theme is “Into the Wild!” and to celebrate, more than over 60,000 pounds of ice will be arriving at all participating Quiet Resorts locations, where they will be transformed into brilliantly sculpted masterpieces by The Ice God (noted ice sculptors in the Mid-Atlantic) celebrating wild wonders in particular.
Bethany Beach will be the primary location for most of the festival’s activities throughout the weekend. Come out for the kick off on Friday, January 26, starting at 3 p.m., where children can jump around in inflatable bounce houses before taking in an outdoor movie at the Bandstand (DeepSea 3D from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.). There will also be a delightful, warming beach bonfire burning bright between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. and s’mores!
Things will get started early on the scene in Bethany Saturday morning beginning at 9 a.m. Dan Gaffney of Delaware 105.9 will be broadcasting live from the flagpole until noon. Other entertainment throughout the day will include inflatable bounces (11 a.m. to 7 p.m.), juggling performances by Cascading Carlos (1 p.m. to 4 p.m.), and even a Mechanical Shark Inflatable rides (2 p.m. to 6 p.m.).
But of course, it’s the live ice carving demos that remain the day’s highlighted happening. And on Saturday there will be two—one at 4 p.m. on location at Bethany Beach Ocean Suites and another at the Bethany Beach Bandstand at 6 p.m. The official “Into the Wild” Ice Tour at the Bethany location will take place between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m., featuring an “Into the Deep” focus in which area sculptures will highlight water animals and deep-sea creatures.
In addition to the elaborate setup surrounding Bethany Beach, other Quiet Resorts locations throughout Sussex County, DE will getting into the act as well. Come out to Salted Vines Vineyard & Winery on Friday, January 26 starting at noon and enjoy food trucks, live music, a live sculpture demo, and more. The “Into the Wild” Ice Tour at this location (safari themed) will take place between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. While you’re at it, you may want to indulge in a taste of “jungle juice” from the featured Ice Drink Luge.
Live music will continue at Salted Vines Vineyard & Winery throughout the weekend. Singer/songwriter Bobby Lee Jones will be in the house on Saturday between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Then, at this same timeslot on Sunday, you can experience the Bilenki Duo.
The Town of Ocean View (John West Park) has plenty to take in throughout the weekend as well. Starting things off on Friday, beginning at noon, you can enjoy food trucks, an inflatable winter maze, a Beer Garden setup, and live radio with Dana McDonald. An ice craving demo will also take place on this date from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. And of course, the “Into the Wild” Ice Tour will be the honored event from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Several of the opening day attractions onsite here Friday will return on Saturday, with the addition of pony rides, arts and crafts, live music by Homestead Bluegrass, and the awing Historic Village in Ocean View display.
Millville Boardwalk will also play host to plenty of happenings, following in a particularly Mesozoic era theme. The fun starts early on Friday at 10 a.m. Featured activities and attractions will include Go Karts and Captains Quarters Arcade, arts and crafts, karaoke and family fun at T Rex Lounge, the impressive Volcanic S’mores & Fire Pits (benefitting the Millville Volunteer Fire Company), an Incredible Fire Exhibit by artist Adam Foster, ice cream specials, and more. A live ice carving demo will begin at 4:30 p.m. and that location’s “Into the Wild” Ice Tour will be from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Also in Millville, at Lord’s Landscaping on Friday and Saturday, you can enjoy ice skating via their 1,800 square foot synthetic ice rink. A portion of the proceeds will go towards the Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce to benefit the Lord Baltimore PTO.
In addition to all the icy excitement, another highly anticipated happening taking place over in Millville will be the famed Chili Cook Off Competition. A fun, friendly competition that’s equally as delightful to participate in as it is to watch, all proceeds from the event will benefit the Millville Volunteer Fire Company. Tickets will be available for two separate time slots (limited) in order to ensure that everyone may experience the same raffles, beverages, and chili helpings, of course. Click here to learn more.
This is by no means the extent of all the weekend features taking place at this year’s Fire & Ice Festival DE. From extensive area tasting tours to sign up for to plenty of other on-your-own experiences, the offerings at various Quiet Resorts locations throughout the event are plentiful, to say the least. Experience it all firsthand by attending the hottest-coolest mid-winter happening on the southern Delaware Coast. Visit www.fireandicede.com to learn more.