The weekend crowds for IceFest 2013 were nothing short of massive, organizers said.

IceFest chairman Tim Naab said attendance for the weekend was around 30,000.

“I think they were the biggest crowds I’ve ever seen,” said Sue Samoviski of the City of Sculpture committee. “I’ve never seen them shoulder-to-shoulder going up High Street.”

“Someone told me it was like Gatlinburg or some other high-tourist area, which I took as a good thing,” she said.

Based on ZIP codes written by voters on the People’s Choice Award ballots, Samoviski said that people came not only from surrounding states but from as far away as Massachusetts, Colorado and Florida, with a high concentration of people from Cincinnati, Dayton and Northern Ohio.

Naab said that while he was doing a shift at the information booth, he talked to a family from Thailand who had been visiting Cincinnati and heard about IceFest.

The weather was warmer than ideal, Samoviski said, which meant that by the end of the day on Saturday many of the sculptures were starting to break apart, but some visitors made the best of it.

“People still had fun,” she said. “On the sculpture of Lincoln, his head fell off, so I saw people going behind it and putting their head in its place to have their picture taken.”

The festival is starting to be popular enough that some organizers are hoping to expand it the next time around. The dates have already been set for 2015, and the committee will be meeting next week to determine a theme so they can “hit the ground running,” Naab said.

“Some of the artists at ArtFest are suggesting that we stay open later,” said Sherry Armstead, director of Art Off Symmes and ArtFest at IceFest organizer. “We were having to chase people out, so we may adjust the hours in the future.”

The People’s Choice Award was given to Fairfield resident Jon Michael for “Christmas Story,” the recreation of a scene from the movie in which Flick gets his tongue stuck to a flagpole. Michael is one of the carvers at Artic Diamond, the Forest Park Company that also created all of the sponsored sculptures.

The Carver’s Choice award went to the abstract seahorse created by Clinton Rich of Detroit.

The Best of Show went to the recreation of Niagara Falls and the Maid of the Mist, sponsored by the Rossville Inn.

The Sled Race was won by the United Way team, with the YMCA Snow Queens coming in second. The Morgue Mushers won the “Most Spirited Award” and 32 Degrees, the Hamilton City Firefighters, won “Best Dressed.”

Several Butler County students took home honors in the IceFest Soap Sculpture Contest. Those sculptures are still on display in the windows of the Rentschler Building on High Street. Winners include:

• Ninth-grade division, World Landmarks: Jamie Barnes of Lakota West Freshman School (first place); Meghan Baumhardt of Lakota West Freshman School (second place); and Jessica Wheeler of Fairfield Freshman School (third place).
• Ninth-grade division, U.S. Landmarks: Elen Aslanyan of Lakota West Freshman School (first place); Garrick Morgan of Lakota West Freshman School (second place); and Alexia Ball of Fairfield Freshman School (third place).
• Ninth-grade division, Local Landmarks: Jessie Schneider of Fairfield Freshman School (first place); Kelly Netlurs of Fairfield Freshman School (second place); and Elizabeth Arnett of Lakota West Freshman School (third place)
• Eighth-grade division, World Landmarks: Michael Lodder of Queen of Peace School (first place); Briana Coy of Wilson Middle School (second place); and Jon Stoddard of Wilson Middle School (third place)
• Eighth-grade division, U.S. Landmarks: Jacob Felts of Wilson Middle School (first place); Rebecca Lanrmann of Wilson Middle School (second place); and Brooke Grueninger of Garfield Middle School (third place)
• Eighth-grade division, Local Landmarks: Donovan Rodriguez of Garfield Middle School (first place); Gabby Betancourt of Garfield Middle School (second place); and Abby Grollmus of Garfield Middle School (third place)