By Brenda Koopsen SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – A celebration of food, iceskating and contests are just a few of the activities kicking off this year’s 34th annual Winterfest.
One popular attraction, ice skating in Clinton Square, brought in several ice skaters throughout the day to celebrate the first day of Winterfest and Valentine’s Day.
Aside from the numerous outdoor activities, Winterfest has even more to offer.
In fact, it’s a celebration of culinary fun in Syracuse, according to Communications Director for the Downtown Committee, Alice Maggiore.
“People look forward to being able to get outside and have an excuse to trudge through the snow and participate in all the fun,” said Maggiore.
While February tends to be cold and snowy, Syracuse events such as Winter Fest brings people out and into businesses.
According to Maggiore, businesses measure their successes in different ways, but the local impact is huge.
While the PressRoom Pub hasn’t had a slow period yet, they’re expecting to draw a large crowd, according to chef and partner, Frank Bell.
“Winterfest is actually going to help towards the end of it,” said Bell. “There’s 800 tickets per event, 1,500 for the Wing Fest and we expect 800 people per ticket.”
According to their website, the PressRoom Pub will be participating in a number of contests including the Chilli Cook-off, Margarita Mix-off and Cosmopolitan Mix-off.
As for the food, visitors shouldn’t anticipate a shortage.
“It’s just a matter of making more of what we usually make,” said Bell. “I’ll make quite a bit more. 800 people…so that’s a lot of people coming through per event.”
Winter Fest will continue through February 24th.
For more information on Winterfest activities, visit their website here.
