Carvings take center stage at Plymouth Ice Festival

A dragon, bunny and Mickey Mouse carved from ice lined the sidewalks of Plymouth on Sunday for its annual ice festival.

More than 60 carvings were displayed in downtown Plymouth, including the Ice Throne, a popular backdrop for photos designed so guests can feel like festival royalty.

Each sculpture starts as a 350-pound of block of ice that is cut to size and shaped with chisels and saws, and sometimes melted with hair dryers to give it a smoother finish.

Alehonse Ruffner, 74, of Taylor said he has been to downtown Plymouth for the ice festival 12 times, but was still intrigued by new creations.

Ruffner was looking at an ice sculpture of a Red Wings hockey player and said that's exactly what he came for: "It's nice. It's different ... you know what it is."

He came with his wife Sunday and usually stays in the area for most of the day, viewing the art and visiting surrounding businesses.

Participants could get their faces painted, drink hot chocolate, warm up at heating locations and eat at restaurants like Bigalora, Alpine Chocolate, the Ann Arbor Brewery.

The ice festival saw another repeat participant, Scott Molitor, 61, who said he has been coming to the festival for over 15 years. His favorite sculpture: "the mountain scene ... with the coyote and the rabbits, that's pretty amazing," he said.

Molitor and his wife, of Canton Township, visit downtown Plymouth every week, so the festival plus Sunday's weather reaching a high of 49 made it "a beautiful day" for the Molitors.

Michelle Dawson, 48, brought her friend of 20 years, Katina Singleton of Detroit to the ice festival for the first time. They planned to explore downtown Plymouth, take pictures and get ice cream.

She was most excited to see an ice sculpture of a cupcake. "I love food, so when it saw that I was like 'Yay'," Dawson of Detroit said.

"Just looking for wow factors, taking plenty of pictures so I can share on social media," Dawson said. "It's like a new experience because it's been a long time since I've been here."

The festival concludes Sunday, but the sculptures will remain in place and available for viewing 24 hours a day until they melt.