Fire & Ice in Mount Holly

What better way to celebrate winter than with chili and ice sculpting?

On January 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., downtown Mount Holly becomes an homage to both at its annual Fire & Ice Festival, which features a chili contest and an ice-sculpting contest.

The chili contest kicks off with registration from 9 to 10 a.m. at the Relief Fire House, said to be the nation’s oldest. Fee is $25 for professional chefs, $5 for amateurs. Make sure you bring a crock-pot full of your hot stuff for the judges to sample. If you’re not a culinary whiz, you can taste samples after the judging, which starts at noon.

For the ice-sculpting contest, pros and amateurs take 300 pound blocks of ice and turn them into works of art. Carving starts at 10:30 a.m. If you’re not participating, it’s still fun to watch the transformation of the ice blocks throughout the day. If you’d like to give it a go, register from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Burlington County College (1 High Street). Fee is $75 for pros, $30 for amateurs.

Tags: Mount Holly | festival | Burlington County College