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Niagara Falls
Thursday, February 6, 2025
PHOTO GALLERY: Sweet treats and frozen delights at Icewine Festival
Five-year-old Wesley Driedger and nine-year-old Olivia Driedger make a new friend on Queen Street — Frosty the Snowman, looking extra icy on Sunday. DAVE VAN DE LAAR
There's no timid winter weather to be found, but Arlene Mercer and Nancy Dunbar are all smiles warming up by the fire on Queen Street. DAVE VAN DE LAAR
Alyson Schmidt and Jason Bell make the most of their visit from Toronto on Sunday, warming up by a heating lamp and enjoying some icewine. DAVE VAN DE LAAR
Rachel and Vince Sacino snap a selfie together with Peller Estates' ice sculpture. DAVE VAN DE LAAR
Rich Reinelt, the owner of Festive Ice Sculptures in London, Ont., with his work in progress — an icy sculpture of a friendly snowman. DAVE VAN DE LAAR
Ice carver Rich Reinelt works his magic on Queen Street, taking his chainsaw to a block of ice, shaping it into a smiling snowman, complete with a top hat. DAVE VAN DE LAAR
David Photiadis and Marin Smit sit down and enjoy their food and drinks from the festival, including a marinated pulled pork parfait and icewine. DAVE VAN DE LAAR
Chetna Vishav enjoys a glass of red icewine, while Sherry Sachdeva has her own glass of white icewine. DAVE VAN DE LAAR
Photo (c) 2025 Dave Van de Laar www.Davehvandelaar.com DAVE VAN DE LAAR
Cheese Secrets co-owner Xavier Allard is hard at work grilling up dozens of grilled cheese sandwiches, with generous helpings of cheese. DAVE VAN DE LAAR
VIP festivalgoers seek respite from Sunday's chilly weather inside a heated snowglobe on Queen Street. DAVE VAN DE LAAR
Despite chilly conditions on the weekend, festivalgoers make the most of their time at the Icewine Village, stopping to smile and take photos together on Queen Street. DAVE VAN DE LAAR

This week’s polar vortex may have brought a bitter cold into this part of the Niagara peninsula, but for the folks who were out on Queen Street this past weekend, it was all about revelling in everything that can make winter a delight.

The annual Icewine Festival made its return to Niagara-on-the-Lake for its 30th year, turning the town’s downtown core into a cozy village for warming up, enjoying hot food and desserts from local vendors and sampling cocktails and some of NOTL’s most popular icewines — with free entry.

This was the first of what is a two-weekend affair, starting Jan. 18 and 19, and continuing this weekend on Jan. 25 and 26.

The festival got to a wet start on Saturday with pouring rain for a portion of the day, but Sunday welcomed more scenic snowy weather.

“It was snowy and beautiful and there were a lot of people around,” said Kathy Weiss, executive director of the NOTL Chamber of Commerce, which puts on the annual Icewine Village in Old Town.

More than a dozen wineries were on Queen Street serving up glasses of their house icewines, vintages from previous seasons — this year’s harvest of icewine grapes has already been completed and NOTL wineries will be releasing 2025’s vintages later this year.

Guests of all ages lined up for hot grilled cheese sandwiches from Cheese Secrets, tried pulled pork parfaits made in martini glasses, sampled cocktails as part of a competition outside the old Court House and had traditional maple taffy.

To beat the cold, the village had bonfires and warming bubbles fashioned to look like snowglobes for festivalgoers to warm up in, while others enjoyed watching master carvers make festive ice sculptures.

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