First Fridays

On the first Friday of each month, Downtown Goshen sponsors First Fridays, a "downtown block party" from 5-9pm. It was developed to promote shopping locally and the businesses downtown specifically. Each month they have special activities that attract people downtown, and many of the downtown businesses are open extended hours until 9pm. The idea has really caught on and I have really enjoyed strolling the downtown streets, seeing people I know, and shopping in a few stores that I don't shop at very regularly.

On Friday, January 2nd, Denise, Penny and I started our First Friday experience by eating at Il Forno, an Italian/pizza place owned by a classmate of my brother's. Denise and I have eaten here several other times but it was the first time for Penny. We have discovered you have to get there early (soon after 5pm) on First Fridays or they get really busy. We enjoyed a yummy fresh pizza and then ventured out in the cold to see the special activity for the month - ice carving. Local businesses sponsored a block of ice to be carved on Main Street by the local ice carving association.

Greg Beachey, who was the chef at Camp Friedenswald when I worked there, was the coordinator for the ice carvings, and is an accomplished ice carver himself. Here he is talking to Denise and Penny while putting some ice blocks in place.

The carving in front the Ten Thousand Villages store - a giraffe.

A bruin - the mascot for Bethany Christian Schools

Carving a coffee cup in front of the coffee shop - The Electric Brew

The ice carvers carved larger blocks for a competition on the courthouse lawn on Saturday morning, but I wasn't around for that.