New England States Section

BETHANY BEACH - Experience the Quiet Resorts, Delaware as you never have before at the Fire & Ice Festival with this year’s theme – Lights, Camera, Action! The dates set for this annual event are Jan. 27-29.

Enjoy a weekend of winter festivities at the beach, including ice sculpture tours, live sculpture demonstrations, bonfires, fireworks, ice slides, tastings, music, and – of course – Movie Magic.

Sculptures will be unveiled when the sun sets, illuminated with colored lights for the sculpture tour each evening! Starting at 5 p.m. check out all the sculptures in town by taking a “Walk of Fame” on the Ice Tour! Pick up a festival map at the information tent to make sure you see them all! There is over 50,000 pounds of ice coming to The Quiet Resorts, all masterfully crafted by the artists from The Ice God! Watch as the ice

sculptures are unveiled and illuminated with lights as the sun sets each evening.

Visit all participating restaurants with your Tasting Tour Card to taste their signature Fire & Ice “Lights, Camera, Action!” themed cocktails. Celebrate Fire & Ice weekend with the action-packed Chili Cookoff and a little friendly competition benefiting the Millville Volunteer Fire Company.

For more information, visit https://fireandicede.com/info/

For more information on Delaware >CLICK HERE

HOOKSETT - The three-day-long winter-carnival-themed event features a curling rink, interactive ice displays and a whole fleet of food trucks at Oscar Barn Wedding Venue in Hooksett.

As Dan Lagueux remembers, it all started out as a dream. One night Lagueux’s daughter woke up crying, saying she wanted to become a famous soccer player and that her friends mocked her for it. After Lagueux gave his daughter a pep talk, she turned the table on him: “‘Well, what’s your dream daddy?’ she asked me,” Lagueux says. “And I said, ‘My dream is to own a restaurant one day.’ So she proceeded to say, ‘Why don’t you have a restaurant?’ I broke down, cried and decided and it was time to put my money where my mouth is. I went downstairs that night and started to write a business plan. The rest is history.”

Today, Lagueux and his wife Valerie Vanasse own New England’s Tap House Grille in Hooksett and are ringing in 10 years of business with Ice Fest, an outdoor celebration at their sister location Oscar Barn Wedding Venue. Ice Fest takes place 6 to 10 p.m. on January 12 through 14 and includes a range of outdoor winter-themed activities.

Ice Fest will offer a curling rink, ice cocktail luge, interactive ice displays, wood-fire pizza, food trucks, five different bars, several photo booths and more. The event also features a variety of live music, including DJ Chad and the Bob Pratte Band playing Thursday, January 12, DJ Shamblez, Brad Myrick & Paul Costley and Pop RoKs playing Friday, January 13 and DJ Chad, Dave Glannon and the Rebel Collective playing Saturday, January 14.

Tickets for Ice Fest 2023 can be purchased at oscarbarnweddingvenue.com and are $25 per day. “Tokens” are $4 each, can be purchased online or on the day of the event and will be used to buy food and drinks at the event; leftover tokens can be used at New England’s Tap House Grille for up to a month following Ice Fest.

For more information on New Hampshire >CLICK HERE

WOODSTOCK- Among Vermont’s snow-covered Green Mountains, the town of Woodstock offers countless ways for visitors to enjoy a winter getaway. From downhill skiing at the resort’s newly renamed ski mountain Saskadena Six, to snowshoeing by moonlight, or tasting maple syrup direct from the source, Woodstock is a winter playground ready to be explored.

In the center of town, the Woodstock Inn & Resort welcomes you to warm up next to the fire after enjoying their numerous snowbased pastimes. And down the road at Billings Farm & Museum, guests can meet the farm’s animals and learn about the historic Jersey dairy farm through Farm Life Exhibits, the 1890 Farm Manager’s House, and daily programming. extensive network takes adventurers throughout Mt. Peg and nearby Mt. Tom in the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park. Rentals, clothing, winter sports accessories, trail maps and passes are available at the center. Local experts are also available for lessons, tours, and clinics.

The resort’s ski area, Saskadena Six, welcomes skiers and riders of all skill levels to hit its 24 trails. Those new to skiing can learn from the resort’s world-class Snow Sports School with private and semi-private lessons. Saskadena Six is known for shorter than average lift times to ensure more time to enjoy the slopes.

For cross country skiing and snowshoeing, the resort offers 45 kilometers of groomed trails at the Woodstock Nordic Center. The

On January 13 and February 24, 2023, Billings Farm & Museum invites guests for an after-hours walk, ski, or snowshoe on the Billings Farm Trail along the Ottauquechee River. The one-mile loop will be illuminated by torchlights. Billings Farm interpreters and National Park Rangers will educate guests about local wildlife, the history of the land, and the people who lived there. Afterwards, guests can warm up by the fire pit with complimentary s’mores and hot drinks. This family friendly event is $10 for adults, $5 for children 16 years and under, and free for children under 3 years old. A limited number of adult snowshoes are available to borrow, or rentals can be found at the Woodstock Inn & Resort’s Nordic Center.

Visitors of all ages can experience the beauty of Billings Farm & Museum in a sleigh pulled by the farm’s team of draft horses. Sleigh rides can be arranged by reservation from December through March (conditions permitting). Reservations can be made for up to 16 people for a 30-minute ride. Public sleigh rides are also available on select dates in December, January, and February.

Travelers can celebrate Vermont’s maple history at Billings Farm & Museum’s Magic of Maple. Learn all about maple sugaring at the farm daily from February 18-26, 2023. The area’s rich maple history will be on display through archival photographs and a showcase of tools traditionally used for tapping, sugaring, and processing. Guests can sample Sugar on Snow, a New England treat using pure maple syrup.

During the Magic of Maple event, guests can also take sleigh rides, create wintery crafts, and meet the farm’s animals including Jersey cows and calves, sheep, chicken, and goats.

Billings Farm & Museum is the host for the Woodstock Vermont Film Series every weekend in January and February. The series will transport viewers across the country and the world with films such as Marcel the Shell With Shoes On (showing Dec 31 and Jan 1); Ruth Stone’s Vast Library of the Female Mind (showing Jan 7 and 8); and Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song (showing Feb 11 and 12). The series will conclude with Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story, showing Feb 18 and 19. A Mardi gras-inspired film and food soiree to benefit the Film Series will follow Saturday’s film. Showings are at 3 pm on both Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets for regular screenings are $15 a person or $12 for Billings Farm members and are available online.

The resort’s 10,000-square-foot spa is the ideal place for guests to relax after a day of cold weather activities. The LEED-certified facility features 10 treatment rooms, a spa boutique and locally sourced products. Spa goers can embrace comfort with the spa’s natural light and fresh native flora and Vermont-inspired treatments that reflect the changing seasons. This winter, guests can opt for the seasonal Winter Rose treatment which restores the skin’s glow with a spiced cranberry orange body scrub followed by a rose-colored clay mask wrap.

Spa amenities include a eucalyptus steam room, a private courtyard with a year-round outdoor whirlpool, and a dry-cedar sauna. Reservations can be scheduled online or with the Spa Concierge staff and are recommended to ensure that guests’ preferred time and services are available.