The 2023 Burning Snowman will be February 25.
This post documents my experience on February 23, 2019.
In downtown Port Clinton, festival goers waited in front of participating businesses…
…for a short bus ride…
…to an area between Mr. Ed’s and Dock’s Beach House…
…where they could celebrate a festival called the Burning Snowman.
Mr. Ed’s felt more like the pre-party celebrations…
…where festival goers could get their first drink…
…enjoy some food options that included pizza and shrimp baskets…
…and dance along to some toe-tapping music (The Eric Sowers Band)…
…all before eventually heading across the street to Dock’s Beach House…
…where a flame hand stamp…
…gave you access to festival merchandise (Put-in-Bay T-Shirt Company)…
…such as shirts, hats and cinch bags…
…more food options that included pulled pork sandwiches (Xtreme) and specialty pizzas (Sloopy’s)…
…including a slice of this Hibachi pizza with chicken, shrimp, sauteed zucchini, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, onions, fried rice, yum yum sauce, oyster/soy sauce and sesame seeds…
…and even more great live music (Corduroy Road).
Under the main tent, festival goers could enjoy a drink or two…
…purchased from drink stations…
…found all over the festival area (Catawba Island Brewing Co.)…
…sometimes found only feet from each other.
It was hard to stay thirsty.
Beyond the tented area was the Beach House…
…where festival goers could escape the cold for a bit…
…take advantage of a full bar…
…and enjoy a free shot of Crown Royal.
But whether you enjoyed the cold or not, all festival goers would eventually make there way to the beach area…
…to see a snowman set on fire.
Not these festival-loving snowmen, mind you…
…just “Irving.”
…whose giant body towered over the visitors who approached it…
…and whose filling of dried Christmas trees made for quite an impressive show…
…when set aflame to chase the winter season away (photo courtesy of Fox36).