Opposites attract for the January First Friday ice festival extravaganza, which will be held on January 8th from 6 to 10 p.m. as the new arts year kicks off in downtown Canton. Themed Fire and Ice, the celebration promises a wintry mix of 
fun and flair with ice sculptures, fire hoop dancing & twirling, live music, new art exhibits, and snowflake crafts for the kids.
World champion ice carver Aaron Costic headlines the evening with a fire and ice tower to be set ablaze at 8:00 p.m. on an evening which hosts the cool creations of over 15 ice artists, which will be positioned throughout the Canton Arts District. Carvers include the Elegant Ice Carving Team, Angus McIntosh Sr., Angus McIntosh Jr., Lynn Digby, Ron White, John Froman, students from R.G. Drage, the Players Guild Theatre design team, Vicki Boatright, Craig Booth and Patrick Buckohr.
Turning up the heat, the majorettes from Jackson High will be twirling fire batons, not to be outdone by a fire hoop performance from Amy Melnyk of Mystic Hoop Dance. Other dancing includes the popular Swing Dance lessons and dance at the Metropolitan Centre. And let’s not forget the music: The Blues Casters at Sheri’s Sweets; Kris Kiko-Cozy at Anderson Creative; an organ concert at The Palace Theatre; Matthias Collins and Josh Laird at 2nd April Galerie, Thom Ebersole braving the cold with his accordion, plus many more of your musical favorites.
New art work will be featured with Blind Date: The Romance of Word and Image at Anderson Creative, while the Joseph Saxton Gallery of Photography presents Austral Radiance from curator Steven McNulty’s travels to New Zealand. 
Judi Krew will have her work shown at The Red Ribbon Connection (221 5th Street NW), Joe Martino’s art will be at Julz, and sculptor Chris Wurst will be on site with demos at Sarafina.
Kids will enjoy making snowflake luminaries and icicle key chains with Aultman Wellness on Wheels located at the Rotary Club – a skip away from cocoa and snowball treats at Community One Credit Union, and a special free showing of “The Wizard of Oz” in HD at The Canton Palace Theatre at 7:30 p.m.
And, if you can’t wait to get started — begin your evening “uptown” at the Cultural Center for the Arts at 5:30 p.m. The Canton Museum of Art hosts their fabulous exhibit Something from Nothing – Recycled Sculpture from America’s Rustbelt, amid a reception with About magazine. Spinners and weavers will also be demonstrating their talents. Stop by Players Guild Theatre for a back stage tour, some refreshments and to see the ice sculpture promoting their upcoming play, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”.
Download more information and a map for January 8th’s Fire & Ice festival at www.cantonfirstfriday.com.
