Ice festival a cool hit
Joyce Cully, who co-owns United Plate Glass with her husband, Mike, wasn’t kidding around about her employee’s participation in the Carved in Ice festival’s first hot dog-eating contest.
“I really want that wiener trophy,” Cully said as she filmed a United Plate Glass employee named Colin scarfing down dogs.
Alas, the coveted prize will appear in the lobby at Family Bowlaway in Butler Township, as Scott Tunstall of Butler Township ably represented his employer by eating six hot dogs in five minutes, and keeping them down, per the rules.
More than 100 people filled the Butler Sons & Daughters of Italy Hall, 338 S. Main St., l at noon to watch the stomach-stressing event.
Contestants in the two categories sat side by side at a long table, each with 10 hot dogs on a plate before them.
The contestant to eat the most hot dogs in five minutes — and keep them down for at least one minute after the timer sounded — won the contest.
After the business competitors had wiped their chins, a man asked Tunstall for his autograph, which he happily scrawled onto a folded up piece of paper.
“I feel good,” Tunstall said. “I was pretty confident. I feel like I was ready.”
The winner of the general public category put on an even more impressive showing, having stuffed in all 10 hot dogs in five minutes flat.
Chuck Lewis, who is president of the Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company and ambulance commander, removed each hot dog and quickly ate it first before dipping the bun in his cup of water to help get it down more easily.
Cloudy water from the drenched bun dripped down his chin and onto his T-shirt as he inhaled the hot dogs.
Lewis won a trophy and gift cards to two Main Street eateries.
“I’m a fast eater most of the time, and I guess it’s nice to be recognized for it,” he said after the win.
Lewis said he and a friend won a two-man hot dog-eating contest in the 1980s at the Butler YMCA, where he ingested 30 hot dogs and his partner 15.
He appreciated the opportunity to enter the contest at the Carved in Ice festival, which he called a “great event.”
While the Sons and Daughters of Italy hall was warm and cozy during the contest, hundreds of people of all ages roamed the chilly festival at Diamond Park and Main Street, which was closed from Wayne to Jefferson streets.
Alison Norris, of Mars, boogied to the strains of Whitney Houston that blasted from frosty Diamond Park as she perused the dozens of ice sculptures throughout the park.
“We gotta get out and enjoy ourselves regardless of the weather,” Norris said.
The Norris family visited the Carved in Ice festival for the first time Saturday, and enjoyed the snowman sculpture that allowed her children to put their faces through the head for a unique photo.
“Community is No. 1, right?” Norris said. “And we all are so alone these days and we need to be together.”
Derryk Herold, 9, of Mercer, slid down the ice slide in the northeastern corner of Diamond Park as his mother, Jessica, took pictures.
“I really like it!” Derryk said of the chilly slide.
His mother said they family bundled up and drove to the festival for something to do Saturday.
“It looks like everyone is having a good time, and we need that right now,” Jessica said.
After scanning the ice sculptures shaped like the Eiffel Tower, old fashioned microphone, angel, eyeball, heart, dog and more, many young families made their way past the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile on the way to the Butler Art Center for various free activities.
A long line formed for face-painting, where Emma and Lydia Lippmann, of Butler, waited for their younger sister’s work of art to be finished.
Emma, 16, sported a Spiderman painting on her upper face and forehead.
“They’re my favorite movies,” she said.
She named the Eiffel Tower as her favorite ice sculpture in the park.
“People get to come together in these times just to see the art and all the cool things people did, even though I’m freezing,” Emma said of the festival.
Lydia’s temple area was beautifully decorated with pink roses by the face-painter.
“I chose roses because it’s my middle name,” Lydia said.
She marveled at the skill of the face-painter, who used no stencils or other aids in her work.
“It’s really amazing because it’s just with a paintbrush and paint,” Lydia said. “And she’s doing it all freehand.”
Lydia agreed with her sister’s assessment of the Carved in Ice Festival on Saturday.
“It’s a really fun place where people can get together and have fun, even though it’s cold and disgusting out,” she said.
The festival also included food vendors of all sorts, a warming station by the Moraine Trails Council, breweries, distilleries, a 50/50 raffle that will benefit the Emergency Responders Pavilion being built at Alameda Park, and other attractions.
