By By ANDY HAMILTON / Niles Daily Star
NILES – There were multiple winners at this weekend's Third Annual Hunter Ice Festival.
Swarms of people were treated to fast-paced, high intensity and fine detailed frozen art, and thousands of dollars were handed out to the professional ice carvers who won competitions for their efforts. Businesses in downtown Niles didn't do too bad either.
"It's been crazy," said Janelle Clark of Veni Sweet Shop.
Veni's was right across Main Street from where the Hunter Ice Cream stand was set up, which also featured crushed candy toppings from the sweets store. Clark said the exposure at the ice cream stand was drawing people indoors to the store itself.
Shelley Dumond, assistant manager at Majerek's Hallmark Reader's World, also confirmed business was not normal compared to other Saturdays in winter. Majerek's benefited from having author Cheri Hallwood and illustrator Patricia Rose, both of Niles, signing copies of their book, "Winter's First Snowflake," Dumond said.
"We have a really good turnout for the festival and everybody seems to be really enjoying themselves," Dumond said.
"Oh absolutely," it's different than other Saturdays, Dumond added. "It's just been so fun to see so many people downtown."