Frostival Opens With Free Events on Chilly Weekend

A chilly Saturday didn’t stop many people from getting out to enjoy the opening events of Fredericton’s annual Frostival.  The near-month-long festival brings winter activities, concerts, and many free events to New Brunswick’s capital.

The events kicked off on Saturday with ice carvings at local businesses, made by ice sculptor Richard Chiasson.  Eleven local businesses, including The Radical Edge, The Donut Bar, and Chesspiece Patisserie, commissioned Chiasson to create custom ice sculptures for them.

Chiasson uses a variety of tools, from chisels and saws to blow torches.  He starts the sculptures at his studio, and brings them in his refrigerated truck to finish on-location.  His work often attracts crowds, and this weekend was no exception.

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While Chiasson was busy carving, Officers’ Square was bustling with people.  A skating party, complete with live music and free food and apple cider, took place during the early afternoon.

Dylan Ward is the lead singer in the Marian, the local band who provided music for the skating party.  He says the cold temperatures were a new hurdle for his group: “Our guitar player definitely had a lot of trouble, he was blowing into his hands … right up until we needed him for his big part.”

Ward says Marian plays at local venues like the Capital Complex and Grimross Brewing regularly.  They also have an album available on Spotify and other music streaming platforms.

Savage’s Bicycle Centre was also among the businesses with ice sculptures.  Jesse Drury, who has worked at Savage’s for eight years, says the Frostival season brings new customers to the store.

“In the last couple of years [business] has definitely picked up with out fat bike sales and service.  You see a lot of people riding fat bikes nowadays,” Drury said.

Savages has a wide variety of fat bikes for sale.  Fredericton has many fat bike trails to offer, on both sides of the river.

“There’s a lot of fat bike trails around, we have Marysville … which is nicely groomed,” Drury said.

The Radical Edge, another local bike shop, offers free guided fat bike runs during the winter months.

Frostival continues for the next few weeks, ending on February 2.  Some events to look forward to are the night market at the Picaroons Roundhouse, half-price night at Crabbe Mountain, and the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design’s free are workshops.