Wintertime in Waynesville brings a slightly slower tempo and a chance for us innkeepers to recharge and get ready for the year ahead. However, the winter is also a wonderful time of year to experience our area and our Inn. The weather is relatively mild compared to what you’d think of a mountain winter and our fireplaces keep the Inn cozy, warm, and inviting. This is why we are so excited about being a part of the NC Smokies Ice Fest Weekend this year January 26-28, 2024. This event is bringing a new energy to the month of January and also bringing the whole county together for an impressively coordinated weekend. Led by the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority and visitncsmokies.com, there will be fun events in every town with special packages, offerings, shopping, dining, and entertainment offered by our thriving small business community. Check out the link above to see the detailed participants and all the fun events.
As a lodging partner for Ice Fest, the Andon-Reid is offering guests a 10% discount on room rates, free tickets to the main festival event in Maggie Valley, an in-room hot chocolate station and festive, ice-themed snacks and goodies during a stay on this fun-filled weekend. Book a stay during the weekend of January 26-28, 2024 at this link or use the promo code ‘MVIceFest24’ directly. And of course, all of the other standard amenities will be available to guests, like our gourmet two-course breakfast, all day coffee and tea, and fully stocked guest refreshment bar.
The anchor event for the weekend is the Maggie Valley Ice Festival at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds. At the grounds, you will be able to see live ice-carving demos, play ice games, enjoy s’mores or even slide down an ice slide!
The Waynesville event we are most excited about is the Downtown Waynesville Ice Stroll, which is happening on Friday, January 26 from 5-8 PM. Businesses will be staying open late and Main Street will be a festive atmosphere with creative ice sculptures lining the street. It sounds so wonderful and it’s an awesome way to connect the towns of Maggie Valley and Waynesville and kick off the weekend!
There is also a new Ice-Skating rink in downtown Canton and a rubber penguin race on the Pigeon River, which are both incredibly fun and the Cataloochee Ski Torch Run sounds like an amazing experience. There’s even a webcam available if you can’t make it to the ski area in person!
We are very proud to be part of this new event and are very thankful to the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority for organizing and putting this on. It’s inspiring to see all the enthusiasm from local businesses and town leadership. All the towns in our county are so unique and vibrant, it’s great to have an event that ties them all together.
We hope to see you at the Inn during NC Smokies Ice Fest 2024!
Your Innkeepers,
Brenda and Peter
More on the Ice Fest:
Smokies Ice Fest weekend to liven up the dead of winter
First Maggie Valley Ice Festival draws crowd of 10,000 people
