By By JOHN EBY / Niles Daily Star
DOWAGIAC - Forty-seven degree temperatures licked at the last of the snow Saturday like it was ice cream until green grass and puddles sprouted at Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce's ninth annual Ice Time Festival.
Beeson Street Grill won the "chili crawl" with 82 of 313 votes cast. Wood Fire Italian Tratorria finished second with 72 ballots after winning last year.
Langland, creator of Dowagiac's Dance of Creation in Farr Park and Resting Dancer by City Hall, said, "I was very impressed. There are some wonderful sculptures out there. I think some of the good ones are gone, and there's not much I can do about that. If yours was gone by 3 o'clock, I'm sorry, because it may have been a winner."
First place, and $600, went to Cory Erwin of South Bend, Ind., for Fish and Bubbles, sponsored by dentists Chuck Burling and Jon Gillesby and displayed on Commercial Street.
Second place, and $400, went to Bud Lies of LaPorte, Ind., for Cupid and Carnations in front of Booth's Country Florist.
Third place, and $200, was awarded to John Crumpacker for Swiss Valley Ski Area's Marilyn Monroe figure in front of Saylor's Pizzeria.
Carvers spent as much as three hours on the one piece they could submit for competition.
Freezing your face in that time-honored Ice Time element, lapping up a Pig's Dinner at Caruso's Candy Kitchen, takes much less time.
The Pig's Dinner, served in a trough, consists of a scoop each of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream and a dollop of orange sherbet, slathered with whipped cream, chocolate syrup, nuts, pineapple and cherries. For Ryan Gleason, 10, of Elkhart, Ind., it was breakfast. He won the age 6-10 bracket.
Jason Hurrle, 13, an eighth grader at Dowagiac Central Middle School, won among ages 11-15.
Ryan's father, Jeremy, prevailed among adults.
Frank Sears, 39, of Granger, Ind. won Saylors hot wings competition last year, and Saturday.
While his consumption was off from 14last February to 12, that can be attributed to a rules change.
Where he gulped a dozen in one minute, he ate the 14 in three minutes.
Sears works as an archery technician for Michiana Archery Pro Shop in South Bend.