Back by popular demand, Pegsicle, a hand-carved outdoor ice bar, will once again grace La Peg at FringeArts.
This January, owner and Chef Peter Woolsey will create an ice bar from 16 massive blocks of ice using chainsaws and a set of Japanese ice chisels. New this year, Pegsicle will also include an ice sculpture garden. Five local artists will be chosen to craft their sculptures live as guests sip warming winter cocktails from the ice bar.
“Carving Pegsicle last winter — including the second time, after it melted! — was such a fun and unusual experience that we knew we wanted to make it even bigger and better for 2018,” says Chef Woolsey, a celebrated chef and amateur ice carver who designed and carved the first Pegsicle himself. “That’s why we’re inviting artists of all stripes to submit their designs for ice sculptures, and we will choose five to showcase during this year’s run of Pegsicle.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BP_Fz3bg0rJ/?taken-by=lapegatfringe
Photo above is last year’s Pegsicle ice bar
Artists are invited to submit sketches and any other supporting materials, including their history (if any) with ice carving, to Chef Woolsey and his team at La Peg through Friday, January 5. The team will review each entry and select five artists to carve live at Pegsicle, with one carving each night at 5 p.m. starting Monday, January 15, through Friday, January 19. Each artist whose sketch is chosen will receive one 36” x 24” x 10” ice block and access to Chef Woolsey’s chainsaw and ice chisels to create their masterpieces. Guests are invited to watch the carvings live, and the finished sculptures will be illuminated and serve as a stunning complement to Pegsicle itself.
Interested artists are invited to submit their sketch via email to [email protected] by Friday, January 5. Artists will be chosen by Peter Woolsey and announced via social media at a rate of one artist per day, beginning on Monday, January 8.
Pegsicle 2018 will be located outside of La Peg and will contain three cozy fire pits and views of the Ben Franklin Bridge. On Monday, January 15, Chef Woolsey will carve the massive ice bar and open it to the public for drinks. From that point on, the bar will continue to offer a special menu of warming winter drinks for as long as the ice lasts.
Whether you are competing to become one of the artists, or if you are simply interested in visiting Pegsicle and enjoying cocktails by the fire pits, don’t miss the opportunity to view this outdoor ice bar and sculpture garden at La Peg this winter!
Find La Peg at 140 N. Columbus Blvd. in Philadelphia; phone: (215) 375-7744.
- Sketch of 2017 Pegsicle bar: Peter Woolsey
- Feature photo: Bigstock
