The Hunter Ice Festival is a little more than a week away.

With more than 30 tons of ice waiting to be sculpted into works of art, Niles’ largest annual winter event is certainly a sight to behold.

There is nothing quite like viewing each frozen masterpiece as you take a stroll on the downtown sidewalks while sipping a cup of steaming hot chocolate.

Apart from the ice, one of the major draws of the festival is that it is free.

There is no cost to see and take pictures of the ice sculptures, despite the fact that they are created by some of the world’s finest sub-zero artists.

One of the reasons that the festival is free is because it relies on the hard work of dozens of volunteers.

These people brave the cold to scoop ice cream, greet visitors in the warming center or do countless other things needed to make the event a success.

For the past several weeks, festival organizers have been seeking out people who are willing to donate their time to make sure the thousands of visitors who come to Niles next week will walk away with a positive impression.

We encourage anyone with free time Jan. 22-24 to put their name among the list of growing volunteers.

This can be done a variety of ways, but the easiest is to sign up online at uncoverniles.com/volunteer. You can also find several links to the volunteer page on the Niles Main Street page on Facebook.

If you can’t help out this time, there are several other projects you can volunteer for in the future.

If we want festivals like the Hunter Ice Festival to stick around long into the future, we need to show we care by lending a helping hand.

We hope to see you there.

 

Opinions expressed are those of the editorial board consisting of Publisher Michael Caldwell and editors Ambrosia Neldon, Craig Haupert, Ted Yoakum and Scott Novak.