ROCKLAND LAKE – After a decade-plus hiatus, the Knickerbocker Ice Festival is slated to return with dramatic sculptures, spots to warm up and historic photographs and artifacts that document the heyday of the ice industry in Rockland.
The event was originally slated for Jan. 24 and 25, but it has been postponed to the following weekend (Jan. 31 to Feb. 1) because of an incoming storm system expected to hit the region this weekend. This will be the first time the event has come back to Rockland Lake since 2012.
The event originated in 2007 when Valley Cottage resident Tim Englert and ice sculptor Rob Patalano teamed up to honor the rich ice-harvesting history of Rockland Lake in the 1800s and to create a winter carnival for the community.
Patalano died earlier this year. The weekend festival honors his memory, Englert said during a recent visit.
How Rockland ice cooled the world
Knickerbocker, a nickname for New Yorkers, was also the name of the company that operated a once-thriving ice-harvesting industry based at the lake.
The Knickerbocker Ice Co. cut the ice from spring-fed Rockland Lake. The company used a gravity-powered incline railway — so innovative that Thomas Edison made documentary films about the industry and the innovation — to get the ice to the Hudson.
The ice would be hauled down to the Hudson River and taken by barge to New York City and around the globe.
Modern refrigeration led to the industry’s demise in the 1920s. In 1926, a fire, sparked during demolition of an ice house, destroyed the village of Rockland Lake.
The state parkland replaced most vestiges of the past history and community of the hamlet.
What you’ll see if you go
Plans call for three large sculptures, including depictions of a bald eagle and an American bison, national symbol, and of an angel to honor co-founder Patalano.
Renown ice sculptor Shintaro Okamoto plans to produce the sculptures during the two-day festival.
An Ice Gallery is planned for the North Pavilion. Historic photographs of Rockland Lake, the Knickerbocker Fire Company’s antique hand pumper hose and historic ice harvesting tools will demonstrate the history of Rockland Lake when it was a hub of the ice industry and an active community.
Igloos, built by volunteers, made with snow generated onsite, will dot the festival route.
Lisa Levart’s Women of the Ramapough Lenape Nation exhibit will also be on display. “One cannot explore the history of Rockland Lake without recognizing those who were there before us,” Englert said.
Local Scouts are planning to staff campfires around the venues, with some sites selling hot cocoa. Food trucks will also be at the park.
Englert said a couple weeks before the festival that he hoped for other attractions.
The event is free, and parking will be $10 (Empire passes won’t be honored.)
The Knickerbocker Ice Festival will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31 and 8:30 a,m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 1.
Note: This story has been updated to reflect new information.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Knickerbocker Ice Festival postponed at Rockland Lake State Park
Reporting by Nancy Cutler, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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