Ice Harvest Festival


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Ice harvests were once an essential part of winter in rural communities. Before there was refrigeration, ice was needed to preserve agricultural products and to keep food cold in the warmer months. Hanford Mills Museum celebrates this rural tradition with the Ice Harvest Festival.

Using historic tools and techniques, visitors can cut and maneuver blocks of ice from the Mill Pond, and then transport the blocks to the ice house by sled. At the 2019 Ice Harvest, visitors could:

  • watch the SUNY Delhi Hospitality Center Ice Team transform blocks of ice into beautiful works of art
  • ice fish with volunteers from the Dave Brandt Chapter of Trout Unlimited (This activity is for children. Equipment provided)
  • take a horse-drawn sleigh ride around the Museum grounds
  • see blacksmith demonstrations (pro tip: it’s warm by the forge!)
  • warm up at the hot soup buffet featuring soup from local restaurants
  • gather by bonfires
  • browse and shop from local farmers and vendors including Byebrook Farm (Farmstead Gouda cheese), Catharina’s Hats and Mittens (handknit Swedish-style mittens and hats),  Cabana Coffee (lattes, hot chocolate, and coffee), and the Cooperstown Distillery (handcrafted spirits).
  • make a sketch with the Catskill Interpretive Center’s new Catskill Art Club (supplies provided or bring your own).
  • tour the Museum’s advanced pellet boiler and district heating system and learn about clean heating and cooling technologies from Heat Smart Otsego.
  • stop by the John Hanford Farmhouse to see how folks lived in the 1920s, and see how they baked bread and cookies using the Royal Bride wood-fired stove.
  • watch films of ice harvests in the 1920s-1940s
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