Putnam Fire and Ice — knot so loud

In February 2020, I had no plans for one particular weekend. I discovered that the town of Putnam in the “Quiet Corner” (northeastern) of Connecticut was hosting their Fire & Ice Valentine Festival. So off I went to Putnam. It is a historical mill town with many mills still around to this day, sitting along the Quinebaug River.

Right away, I noticed the convenience of free parking around Putnam. I scored a spot in a lot facing the Quinebaug River. I had to go check out the river first before exploring main street. The river makes a gorgeous backdrop for these historical mills. I noticed the Putnam River Trail that lets people enjoy the nature. Obviously the day I went was a cold blustery day so I didn’t explore the trail. Speaking of some history, I was excited to spot a ghost sign of Coca Cola on a brick building in downtown Putnam!

*The ghost sign of Coca-Cola on a building.*

The Fire & Ice Valentine Festival took place in downtown Putnam. There is a small main street full of restaurants, shops and businesses. The festival is the largest single ice block competition with dozens and dozens of ice sculptures. Some ice sculptures were pre-carved prior to the festival but you also can watch others working away on their ice sculptures. I really enjoyed watching them chiseling away on those ice blocks! There was a common theme of shoes, cars, hearts and birds last year. The festival started early in the morning and went all day until the evening. I was amazed that the ice sculptures were being worked on for hours! It’s definitely not an easy task! The tools used to carve ice also varied from saws, chisels to sanders. It was fun to watch all of those tools, to see how different it was from a sculpture to sculpture!

*The official logo of Putnam ice sculpture on top. Bottom four shows people working on their sculptures.*

*A few of pre-carved ice sculptures around Putnam.*

I headed to the Congregational Church of Putnam where they were having their cake competition. It had been the 10th year of the festival so that was the theme for most of the cakes. It was so fascinating to see the theme of Fire & Ice incorporated into the cakes. Once I entered the church, I was greeted by someone who gave me a heart-shaped paper, this was my ballot for voting on my favorite cake. There was a box next to each cake. In the same room, they sold roses and Putnam Fire & Ice souvenirs.

Outside of the church, there was a bonfire which helped to warm me up occasionally through out the festival because the day I went was freezing! I also popped into a few shops along the main street. Putnam is known for their antiques. There were also many restaurants and eateries. I stopped in Ben’s Beans, a coffee shop. They invited another business Colossal Cupcakes to have a pop up during the festival serving their cupcakes. Two of my favorites were their signature Fire & Ice cupcakes and Elsa’s Ice Castle cupcakes. I loved how they decorated those cupcakes! Ben’s Beans is a coffee shop who contributes to the community with a portion of their sales. From every bag or cup of coffee purchased, you are helping an organization that they have partnered with. The french toast latte was delicious!

(Note: this was from 2019, Ben’s Beans changed ownership. It is still a coffee shop under another name.)

*Top and middle left photos: Colossal cupcakes at Ben’s Beans. Middle right photo: one of the cakes at the church competition. Bottom photo: the ice luge sculpture in action.*

Fire & Ice Valentine Festival was up and down the main street with many other activities. There were plenty to do for those with kids! A 30-foot inflatable igloo was set up near the old train station where there was a princess meet and greet. While I was walking around, I even saw a stilt-walking fire princess. At night time, there is fire-dancing performances! I didn’t stay late enough to watch it, but from pictures posted across Facebook - it looks amazing!

A few of the ice sculptures were functioning ice luges serving alcoholic drinks. It was fun to watch the drinks being served chilled right through those sculptures! One ice sculpture was a barrel keg where the drink was poured from top entry through a tube inside the sculpture to a side exit. Another was similar but it was a Jack Daniels bottle. I noticed a few ice bars through out the festivals where the bar itself was made from carved ice blocks.

After Fire & Ice festival, I went on a little scenic drive through the rural countryside of “The Quiet Corner”. I came across Vanilla Bean Cafe in Pomfret, a short 10 minutes away from downtown Putnam. I learned that Vanilla Bean Cafe was the site where the Vanilla Coke drink was introduced the to the world back in 2002. I thought that was a cool fact! The restaurant was spacious and cozy, housed in a restored 19th century barn. The menu consisted mostly of sandwiches, soups and light entrees. Vanilla Bean Cafe also offers breakfast and bakery goods. I enjoyed the chicken salad sandwich and their delicious green tea matcha latte!

This year, Fire & Ice festival is taking place on Saturday February 12th from 12pm to 9pm. Check out the website here for more information. It’s a fun community event for anyone to enjoy!