Wheaton had their annual ice art festival, with talented ice sculptures scattered across Downtown. On Saturday, Feb. 8, individuals and families enjoyed ice sculptures and hot chocolate provided by the stores. The event added the coco crawl for the first time and it was a hit. 

The coco crawl lets customers walk from 10 locations and view 32 sculptures. The annual event has been going on for four years and included hot chocolate for customers. The walk lasted from 11am to 3pm and the event sold over 400 tickets with a growing market. “It’s a way for the community to get together,” said Donna Hesik, owner of Suzette’s Creperie, “in the winter, downtown Wheaton is pretty quiet”. The event allowed the 10 stores to showcase what they have to offer to the community in the winter and keep the downtown busy. 

Families were bundled up, the weather played a big role in the event. The weather can be a hit or miss, on Saturday, the sun was shining and people were on the go. Customers viewed the 32 sculptures but didn’t stop there, they enjoyed hot cocoa on their way. “By adding the coco crawl it really made the customers walking by the ice sculptures come into the store,” said Hesik, Suzett’s being one of the stores serving hot cocoa. Not only did the customers enjoy the warmth but also had a chance to check out the glorious bakery case in Suzette’s.  

The annual event has grown over the years and improved to accommodate all the customers. The event is perfect for families to get out of the house on a winter day, to appreciate the ice sculptures and delicious hot cocoa. Donna Hesik is optimistic about this event based on this year’s participation, the event is striving to improve she said, “They will be buying more mugs next year because they sold out this year”. This is a great sign for Downtown Wheaton to see the community getting involved.