The 2018 Iceworm Festival is off to an energetic and boisterous start.
The celebration began on Saturday morning, Jan. 27, with Iceworm’s Beer Mile, followed by the Food Fair, with volleyball and basketball games throughout the day.
“It’s been pretty busy, but everything’s going pretty well so far,” said Kelsey Appleton, vice president of the Iceworm Board. “It’s such a weird time of year to have a really funky little festival and it makes everyone so happy and we just have a lot of fun with it.”
A car drives down Main Street with a pink stuffed animal iceworm attached to the roof. Meanwhile, on the corner of Nicholoff Way and Railroad Avenue, a survival suit dummy is pinned near the top of a lamppost in preparation for the survival suit races happening later in the week. Another was positioned on top of the iceworm snowman at Hollis Henrichs Park.
The Cordova Iceworm Festival was created in 1961 to lift the spirits of those down with the winter blues. What originally started as a two or three-day party transformed into the weeklong celebration seen this week.
“All the board members grew up here loving this festival and so it’s really fun to work on it,” Appleton said. The current Iceworm Board is comprised of seven members. Together, they have spent thousands of hours, working year-round, to produce this festive event.
Appleton also sees the festival as a way to stimulate the economy during Cordova’s quiet time of year.
The festival has seen some changes over the years and has recently gone through a revamping stage. New Iceworm Festival banners hang on each street pole lining Main Street along with a new parade banner, website and baby and parade iceworms.
“Eventually our goal is going to be there’s not a hotel room available and all the businesses are open and busy,” Appleton said. “We’re hoping to get it to that point without it losing its small-town charm that it has.”
From paper airplane and beard contests to informational iceworm talks, this festival has something for everyone.
Events throughout the weekend were streamed on Facebook live for the public to watch.
The Powder House featured a doubles ping pong tournament on Sunday night. Father-daughter team, Anne and Pete Schaefer, came in first place, donning matching red flannel shirts.
There’s also a new-found vibrancy during the festival, as the weather begins to clear after weeks of rain and darkness.
Businesses around town decorated for the festival, with some offering Iceworm specials. The Iceworm Board also created Iceworm-themed Snapchat filters for various events throughout the week.
The final day of the festival, Saturday, Feb. 3, is packed with main events including one of Iceworm’s oldest traditions, the arts and crafts fair. Also on tap are survival suit races, a parade down Main Street, and the fireworks show. Click here to see the full Iceworm Festival schedule.
