MARSHALL, Mich. — The Ice, Wine, Beer and Blues Fest will be returning to downtown Marshall in 2023. The event will be held February 3-4.
The wine and beer tasting will be held at downtown Marshall businesses on Friday, February 3 from 6 p.m.-10 p.m. At each location, visitors will receive a 2 oz pour of wine or a 3 oz pour of beer. There will also be appetizers from local restaurants. A list of the participating businesses can be found below:
- The Mole Hole
- The Green Scene
- Living MI
- Serendipity & The Brew Coffee Cafe
- Handle & Hinge
- Eastend Studio & Gallery
- Bluefish Consulting
- Solitude & Co.
- Highpoint Community Bank
- Amazing Grace
Visitors ages 21 and older will be able to purchase a $25 wristband at any location and receive 10 wine/beer tastings. Passes can also be purchased on The Franke Center’s website, and exchanged for a wristband on Friday night at Handle & Hinge, Living MI, or Eastend Studio.
The event will also feature live ice carving by John Merucci and his team. The theme for this year’s sculptures will be video games. The sculptures will feature characters such as Pac-Man and Halo. The ice carvings will take place downtown on Friday from 5 p.m.-8 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. until completion.
On Saturday, February 3, the festival will conclude with a live blues concert at The Franke Center for the Arts. The show will begin with Keith Scott performing at 7 p.m.
At 8 p.m., headliner Nora Jean Wallace, who is also known as Nora Jean Bruso, will perform. Wallace’s albums include 2003’s Nora Jean Bruso Sings the Blues and 2004’s Going Back to Mississippi. Her latest album, Blues Woman, was released in 2020.
Tickets to the concert will be available at The Franke Center’s website.
“Last year, we had to scale the event back,” said The Franke Center’s executive director Jacob Gates. “This year, we’re looking forward to having a normal crowd of around 600 again. This event is one of the highlights of the winter for a lot of people, and we can’t wait to be back in full force.”
The Ice, Wine, Beer and Blues Fest will be held February 3-4.
