Fire & Ice is welcoming. Fire & Ice is about community. Fire & Ice is energizing.

Not unlike its host town.

Fire & Ice epitomizes and reflects what Lititz stands for. It's an event that truly captures the spirit of the venue.

"When you're in Lititz, there's always a vibe," said Alyssa Diehm, who's been an executive assistant at Venture Lititz for two years. "You can feel the pride. Then add thousands of visitors, and we get to share that feeling with them. People will drive hours to come to Fire & Ice. Our small business owners believe in Venture Lititz and Fire & Ice. It's this feeling of pride like we're all doing it together."

This year's edition of Fire & Ice, Lititz's winter carnival, will be conducted over two upcoming weekends - Thursday, Feb. 12, to Monday, Feb. 16, and Thursday, Feb. 19, to Sunday, Feb. 22. Sponsored by nationally accredited Main Street nonprofit Venture Lititz, Fire & Ice is a fundraiser designed to attract visitors to downtown merchants during their slow season.

"It's so much more than a winter event," said Diehm. "It gets people out and interacting. Sometimes, the world feels divisive, but this brings people together."

Conducted mainly on Broad Street and Main Street and in portions of Lititz Springs Park, Fire & Ice will unofficially kick off with Winter's Coolest Night, a ticketed event, from 6 to 9 p.m. on Feb. 12 at Lititz Shirt Factory, 5 Juniper Lane, Lititz. The festival's official opening night will be Friday, Feb. 13.

This year, Fire & Ice will feature 76 one-block, artist-carved ice sculptures, located mostly on Main and Broad Streets, and 32 giant, two- to 10-block sculptures, primarily situated in Lititz Springs Park. The ice sculptures are sponsored by local businesses.

"When Venture Lititz does Fire & Ice, we commit," said Diehm. "We have some really fun ice sculptures this year, like the Minions, Lego Man, snowmen and the popular ice toilet. The merchants have Fire & Ice specials, and you just have to try them all. And you just have to see the fire shows."

Among this year's highlighted events are a family-friendly scavenger hunt, a hot-and-cold crawl, an ice cream festival, a kids' fire and ice safety showcase, the Make and Take Fibre Art Workshop, a makers' market and the traditional Lititz Lions' Chili Cook-Off. Fire & Ice will also feature a food truck court, including 12 revolving vendors; music; and entertainment, including dance troupe presentations and Molly Dazzle's pyrotechnics performances.

"It is a ton of work," said Diehm. "We start planning Fire & Ice in August. This is an event with a lot of sub-events. It takes a lot of work to pull it into a festival. These (volunteers) aren't getting paid. Lititz shows up to help put it on. Everybody shows up."

More than 40,000 people are expected to attend each weekend of Fire & Ice. It takes 120 volunteers to pull off the event, and last year those community members logged a total of more than 1,000 volunteer hours.

"I think the (attendees) are people who know the magic that is Lititz," said Diehm, a resident of Lititz. "They're people who enjoy community events. Lititz is a destination in and of itself, and Fire & Ice emphasizes it. It's people wanting that Lititz vibe."

Established in 2006, Venture Lititz's Fire & Ice has evolved from humble beginnings as a three-day offshoot of the Lititz Lions Club's Chili Cook-Off into one of the premier winter festivals in Lancaster County. Fire & Ice is one of a handful of community-oriented fundraisers that Venture Lititz conducts throughout the year.

"Fire & Ice is a pretty big fundraiser for Venture Lititz," said Diehm. "But during the event, we want our businesses to be successful and to be highlighted. We want to drive business there. We pour the money that we make back into town. Last year, we were able to do a beautification project. All the events are for our community, to bring people together and have shared experiences and celebrate what makes Lititz, Lititz."

"Venture Lititz is here to make Lititz a very desirable place to work, live and visit," she continued, "and I think we do a good job of it. We love what we do. Within Venture Lititz, it's a board of dedicated volunteers, and me and Sam (Thrush) are the only employees. Everyone here is our friends and neighbors. Fire & Ice supports our community, and if you come out, you'll make some good memories while you're at it."

For additional information, go to https://lititzpa.com/fire-and-ice-festival.