Utica

Winter settles in for successful ice festival in Utica

By Brad D. Bates
C & G Staff Writer

» Click on image to view full size « Photo by Donna Agusti Spectators take in the fireworks Feb. 10 in downtown Utica. The fireworks kicked off the 2012 ice festival and marked the first time Utica hosted a fireworks show. Photo by Donna Agusti Spectators take in the fireworks Feb. 10 in downtown Utica. The fireworks kicked off the 2012 ice festival and marked the first time Utica hosted a fireworks show.

UTICA — Utica officials didn’t need fireworks and live ice carving to tell them that developing their city’s riverfront was a good idea, but they didn’t hurt either.

In the first big kick-off event at Memorial Park, with its paved river walk and clock tower, the city hosted roughly 1,000 spectators for fireworks Feb. 10 and crowds all three days of the 2012 ice festival, which continued Feb. 11 and 12.

“They can’t get over how beautiful it is,” City Councilwoman Faith Terenzi said of the visitors who braved temperatures that dropped as low as 14 degrees to enjoy the ice festival at Memorial Park.

“They say, ‘How long has this clock been here?’ People are just loving Utica and the new river walk. And there’s people down there right now looking at the water after they look at the ice sculptures.”

If the mission of the ice festival was to open the eyes of the community to what Utica’s downtown offers, then it was certainly a success.

“We’ve been driving by and (decided) to actually get out and take a look,” Sandi Coccimiglio of Shelby Township said of enjoying the festival with her husband, Vince, and their daughter, Gigi.

And Joseph Mayernik, who owns the Shamrock Pub and is president of the Downtown Development Authority, said that plenty of new visitors enjoyed downtown Utica’s entertainment options.

“I noticed, doing the bills and receipts, there were a lot of first-time customers,” Mayernik said Feb. 13, noting his Saturday sales were up 30-35 percent and Sunday sales increased 40-50 percent over normal.

“This weekend, we had to be more patient with our customers because they were first-time customers, and they didn’t know exactly what they wanted and had to look over our menus a little longer. They were experiencing downtown Utica, at least the Shamrock, for the first time.”

Mayernik said that the success of the ice festival was due in large part to the leadership of the DDA, particularly members John Sattmann, who owns the Cass Bar and Grill, and Tom Steeh, who owns the building currently occupied by GarageBand Music.

“I was very, very pleasantly surprised, and it was thanks to the efforts of the committee with the DDA and John Sattmann and Tom Steeh,” Mayernik said, noting that the DDA covered most festival costs, including Police and Fire department overtime, as well as the Friday night fireworks.

“Because of them, we had great publicity and great crowds. On Friday night, we had half our crowd get up and leave at five to eight and say, “Don’t worry, we’ll be back.’ Then they went out, gazed up at the fireworks and came back, saying it was great to be able to enjoy fireworks like that in the winter.”

Civic leaders agreed that the crowded downtown was a sign that Utica’s future is looking brighter.

“What we were hoping for with the fireworks was to see how it went and to see if we were going to do it again in the summer,” Terenzi said of plans for a summer festival on the river that would feature fireworks, a carnival and a car show July 6-8.

“And it went off without a flinch. It was perfect, and we have a (summer festival) meeting (Feb. 13), so we’re getting ready.”

While the ice festival, which was fully funded by the DDA, was the first event along the developed riverfront, officials are certain it’s not the last.

“The crowd is great, and it’s getting busier and busier, so all is well,” City Councilman Charles Cuddington said while manning the festival’s frozen mullet toss. “If this is any indication of what people are looking for, it’s a great start to the year.”

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Brad D. Bates at bbates@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1029.