SocialICE pushed to March due to Covid spread

SocialICE will be delayed a month due to the latest surge in Covid-19 cases.

The popular winter festival will now be held the weekend of March 3-5, rather in early February, as was originally planned.

The Rochester Downtown Alliance, which hosts the annual event, said the decision to reschedule SocialICE was made in collaboration with Olmsted County Public Health, Mayo Clinic, and participating businesses.

The March event will be re-branded as “Social Lights,” the RDA said. Given the uncertainty of the weather, the event will forgo cold-dependent components such as the ice bars. Instead, the RDA plans to bring interactive lighting displays to Peace Plaza. As in past years, Social Lights will also include live DJs, fire pits, and themed bars and drinks.

The RDA said all six businesses that had intended to participate in the original SocialICE — Cameo at the Castle, Chester’s Kitchen and Bar, Kathy’s Pub, Olde Brick House, The Tap House on Historic 3rd St, and Victoria’s Ristorante and Wine Bar — have signed on to the newly-adapted event.

“Our community needs something to look forward to now more than ever,” said Kanika Couchene, RDA’s director of events and strategic partnerships. “Equally important is offering the community a place to interact for their well-being and providing an opportunity to support downtown businesses in the process all the while keeping everyone safe. Rescheduling and adapting Social-ICE is a solution that addresses all these aspects.”

The RDA had hoped, as recently as six weeks ago, to bring back SocialICE in full form in 2022 after holding a scaled-back event in 2021. That, however, was before the arrival of the new omicron variant, which has sent cases skyrocketing in recent weeks. Last week, Olmsted County recorded 986 new Covid cases, a 50 percent increase from the previous seven-day period.

Cover photo: SocialICE in 2018 / Courtesy the RDA