In 2016, the City hosted its first Ice Festival in December with great success! Visitors came from all around during the weekend to view the spectacular works of art. What developed was our annual Ice Festival, a family-friendly event for all ages. This year, the City is delighted to host the Wisconsin State Ice Carving Competition as part of the 2018 Ice Festival on Saturday, December 15 and Sunday, December 16!

Over a dozen ice blocks will be placed throughout Wehmhoff Square Park. Each sculpture will be carved from a 300-pound block of ice that has been frozen in a special process to ensure that the blocks are crystal clear. The blocks are ten inches thick, twenty inches wide and stand forty inches tall on a wooden stand. The live sculpture carving, a favorite viewing attraction, showcases ice carvers using hand tools as they transform the massive blocks of ice into an array of giant masterpieces.

Along with watching the carving competition, visitors can spend the day in downtown Burlington taking a horse-drawn wagon ride, seeing live reindeer, visiting Santa Clause, exploring our downtown and much more! There is no cost to visitors attending this festival. This is event is only made possible with the support of our community sponsors.