Fire & Ice Festival

The Downtown Dover Partnership (DDP), in collaboration with the City of Dover and community partners, is proud to present the inaugural Fire and Ice Dover Festival, an immersive celebration of art, food, family fun, and the city’s ongoing transformation. The festival – free and open to the entire community – will take place Friday, January 17th, 3PM – 9PM, and Saturday, January 18th, from 12PM to 9PM in the heart of downtown Dover, stretching on Loockerman from the Library to 120 South Governors Ave.

This two-day winter spectacular will feature 32 small ice sculptures and five large, live-carved ice sculptures, alongside activities that bring together Dover’s vibrant community. Visitors will experience the magic of live ice carving starting Friday at 3 PM as well as midday Saturday, while enjoying family-friendly entertainment, including a Kid Zone, parklets with smore’s stations, music, and much more, the fiery flavors of Fire, Ice, and Spice, music, and much more!

“The City of Dover is pleased to be partnering with the DDP on the inaugural Fire & Ice Dover Festival, especially at a time of year when things can be slow for merchants and restaurant owners, and people are getting a little cabin-fever,” commented Mayor Christiansen who believes it is important to bring the community together at events throughout the year. “And we’ll have a little surprise to announce in early January, so keep your eyes and ears open for some news about the Festival Finale, because we’re going to go out with a bang.”

“The Fire and Ice Festival is about more than just winter fun—it’s a celebration of the physical and cultural transformation happening in downtown Dover,” said Diane Laird, Executive Director of the Downtown Dover Partnership. “This event highlights our commitment to revitalizing the city through art, local business, and community engagement, and several catalyst redevelopment projects, including a mobility center for +/-350 cars, bikes, and retail, as well as a mixed-use project with first floor retail, coffee shop, wellness center, a daycare, and 160 apartments above. All of these are projects as outlined in the Capital City 2030 Master Plan.”

The public is invited to stop by The Hive on Loockerman (28 W. Loockerman) to learn and see more about this exciting plan directly from project team members during the Fire and Ice Dover Festival. “2025 is the year that we will begin to see these large scale projects come into view on their sites, with groundbreaking.”