CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. — After being canceled last year due to the COVID pandemic, the Fire and Ice Festival has returned to downtown Canandaigua.

This year brings a mix of new and old attractions, like the popular ice carving station.

Crowds gathered to watch as a group of sculptures carved different shapes into large blocks of ice.

"At the common stage, there's fire shows and stilt walkers,” festival organizer Denise Chaapel said. "Lining the street, we bring out winter animals. So, we have reindeers from Shortsville Reindeer Farm. We have alpacas.”

Even though Saturday brought the cold and the wind, organizers say it wasn't anything they couldn't handle.

"We've had everything from hail to rain to 60 degrees,” Chaapel said. "You never know what the weather will look like".

After last year’s cancelation, organizers really wanted to focus on getting families out to enjoy it this year.

"It's a great way to see all the local stores,” Chaapel said. “We have over 100 mom and pop shops downtown. When someone gets cold they can just pop in a shop and experience it.”

The Fire and Ice Festival runs through Sunday in downtown Canandaigua.