{"id":35069,"date":"2022-02-22T10:53:53","date_gmt":"2022-02-22T15:53:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?p=35069"},"modified":"2022-02-22T10:53:53","modified_gmt":"2022-02-22T15:53:53","slug":"ice-castles-attraction-in-lake-george-proves-to-be-a-tremendous-draw-in-first-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2022\/02\/ice-castles-attraction-in-lake-george-proves-to-be-a-tremendous-draw-in-first-year\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Ice Castles\u2019 Attraction In Lake George Proves To Be A Tremendous Draw In First Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Ice Castles\u2014a 1.5-acre sculpture with frozen 25-foot-high archways, tunnels and slides\u2014is expected bring more than $4 million for lodging, meals, fuel and more to the local economy.
Courtesy Warren County Tourism<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Paul Post<\/p>\n

Only a week after opening, more than 75,000 tickets had already been sold to a major new winter attraction that officials hope can contribute to transforming Lake George into true year-round tourist destination.<\/p>\n

Visitors to Ice Castles\u2014a 1.5-acre man-made sculpture with frozen 25-foot-high archways, tunnels and slides\u2014are expected to spend more than $4 million for lodging, meals, fuel and similar services.<\/p>\n

Located at Charles R. Wood Park\u2019s Festival Commons, 17 West Brook Road, it coincides with this year\u2019s 60th annual Lake George Winter Carnival, featuring a slate of fun activities each weekend in February.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is big, really big,\u201d said long-time Mayor Robert Blais, who has worked\u00a0 <\/span>to promote winter tourism for many years. \u201cAll the businesses that have been open all these years, that have struggled through the winter and supported the Winter Carnival, I say thanks to them. Now you\u2019re going to be rewarded. To the ones that don\u2019t stay open and take advantage of it, I say, \u2018You don\u2019t know what you\u2019re missing\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to Utah, where Ice Castles is based, the company has similar attractions in Minnesota, Wisconsin and New Hampshire. This is its first time in upstate New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe researched it very carefully,\u201d Blais said. \u201cI called communities wherever Ice Castles has been or still is, and talked to the mayors and supervisors. It fills every (hotel) room that\u2019s available.\u201d<\/p>\n

Room reservations at Fort William Henry Hotel & Conference Center are up nearly 20 percent, said Tom Wysocki, sales and marketing director.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>\u201cOur weekends are sold out in February,\u201d he said. \u201cWe also got a lift in midweek, which we normally may not have had. There was an impact on occupancy as soon as it was announced that Ice Castles was coming and the dates it would be open.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our best February ever,\u201d said Jen Vidnansky, Lake George Holiday Inn sales director. In addition to hotel bookings, Ice Castles is also generating business for TR\u2019s Restaurant at Holiday Inn.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s certainly pushing people this way, which is awesome,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The attraction opened on Sunday, Jan. 23 and will welcome guests as long as weather permits.<\/p>\n

Site work began last fall with layout and design. Plans called for an early January opening, but mild holiday week weather delayed things a bit. Then, as temperatures plummeted, crews quickly kicked into high gear.<\/p>\n

The structure was built by a team of about 60 workers, some local and others from across the country, under the watchful eye of project manager Joe Weiler.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The construction process starts by growing 5,000 to 12,000 icicles per day, formed by spraying water onto horizontal sections of chain link fence. Icicles are then harvested by hand and individually added onto existing formations, which keep growing as a fine spray of water, from nozzles located throughout the grounds, turns small icicles into tall upright pillars.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo see it go from nothing to where it is now, it\u2019s quite amazing,\u201d Wysocki said.<\/p>\n

When first announced, officials estimated that 90,000 tickets would be sold. But that number will likely be far surpassed as 76,000 had already been sold before Winter Carnival got under way on Saturday, Feb. 5.<\/p>\n

Blais cited \u201cenormous\u201d collaboration between the Village of Lake George and Warren County for making Ice Castles possible.<\/p>\n

Warren County approved $50,000 in occupancy tax funds to support such efforts. In addition to Ice Castles and the Winter Carnival, the county has invested $215,000 in occupancy tax for winter events including the Festival of Lights, Adirondack Christkindlmarkt, Lake George Winterfest and New York State Ski & Education Foundation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has an impact not only on Warren County, but the entire region, which we can showcase,\u201d said Michael Bittel, Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce president and CEO.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thrilled with the response to Ice Castles,\u201d said Gina Mintzer, Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce executive director. \u201cVisitors are coming from around the Northeast. Hotels are realizing robust business and a few restaurants that we know of have stayed open additional evenings including 10 McGillis Public House and Barnsider Smokehouse BBQ.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Village of Lake George is also realizing a direct financial benefit, as Ice Castles is expected to pay $25,000 for the huge volumes of water needed to create the display, making it the water district\u2019s biggest customer. It\u2019s an environmentally-friendly attraction, as clean melting ice water will eventually run into the nearby lake.<\/p>\n

Ice Castles is also open at night when thousands of colorful LED lights transform features into a fascinating sight spectacle.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see a beautiful, kind of glacial natural look during the day,\u201d said Kyle Standifird, Ice Castles chief executive officer. \u201cThen in the evening, that\u2019s a whole different experience. It\u2019s fantastic. It really is a place where the imagination can go wild. We strive to bring magic to all of our guests. That\u2019s our stated goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Company founder Brent Christensen crafted his first icy creation in his home\u2019s front yard, for his children, after moving from sunny California to snowy Utah. His ice cave was a hit with kids from all over the neighborhood and eventually across town as they bundled up and headed outside to play at the wintry wonderland, which they nicknamed \u201cice castle.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 4 million people have visited Ice Castles at sites across the U.S. and in Canada since its inception in 2011.<\/p>\n

Ice Castles has generated media coverage from numerous local, state and nationwide outlets including The Weather Channel, seen by millions of viewers across the country, which helps promote and bring visitors to Lake George.<\/p>\n

\u201cThroughout the pandemic many events have been canceled, but this community has stayed strong, working together to ensure the growth of winter tourism in our area,\u201d said Kristen Hanifin, county tourism development and events coordinator. \u201cOver the past few years you\u2019ve tirelessly worked together to bring a transformative winter vision to this area and region. We are finally making Warren County a true \u2018winter-cation\u2019 destination.\u201d<\/p>\n

From all indications, Ice Castles could become a Lake George mainstay.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve done this at a couple other cities,\u201d said Weiler, the lead ice builder. \u201cWorking with Warren County and the Village of Lake George has been unlike anything we\u2019ve ever dealt with before. You\u2019ve been so supportive of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

For tickets and information see: www.icecastles.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Paul Post Only a week after opening, more than 75,000 tickets had already been sold to a major new winter attraction that officials hope can contribute to transforming Lake George into true year-round tourist destination. Visitors to Ice Castles\u2014a 1.5-acre man-made sculpture with frozen 25-foot-high archways, tunnels and slides\u2014are expected to spend more than […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":35071,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n\u2018Ice Castles\u2019 Attraction In Lake George Proves To Be A Tremendous Draw In First Year - Glens Falls Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2022\/02\/ice-castles-attraction-in-lake-george-proves-to-be-a-tremendous-draw-in-first-year\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Ice Castles\u2019 Attraction In Lake George Proves To Be A Tremendous Draw In First Year - Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Paul Post Only a week after opening, more than 75,000 tickets had already been sold to a major new winter attraction that officials hope can contribute to transforming Lake George into true year-round tourist destination. 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