The Hometown Treasure February 2012 | Page 11

Shipshewana’s Ice Festival The annual Shipshewana Ice Festival and Chili Cook-Off, was held December 28-30. According to Levi King, Ice festival coordinator, 30,000 pounds of ice were used this year during the event. This was the fourth year that the event was held. The first by Jerry Hostetler year saw 21,000 pounds of ice used and every year thereafter there was an increase of 2,000 pounds per year. This year, however, there was an increase of 7,000 pounds of ice used from last year’s event! The Ice Carving winners are listed in the previous pages. The 2011 Chili Cook-Off winners were, Doug Gage from Shipshewana receiving Grand Champion honors, Garden Gate Café in Shipshewana garnering second place and Blue Gate Restaurant receiving third place. Topeka Elementary 4th Grade Activities Topeka’s fourth grade students took advantage of an unusually warm January day to experiment with shadows. The students went outside at 9:30 am and 12:30 pm for measurement comparisons of their shadows. Discus- sion centered around the angle and the position of the sun in relationship to their shadow locations. Right: Students experiment with shadows at different times of the day. Photo Submitted Christmas Activities On December 5, Topeka Elementary held their 4th and 5th grade Christmas program. December 21 saw Santa and one of his elves visit the school. Staff and students then gathered around for a sing-a-long. Left: Students in the Annual Christmas program. Above: Santa during his visit. Photo Submitted Position Available pg 10 · The Hometown Treasure · Feb. ‘12