Milford celebrates winter with lights and skates

A week of festivities got underway Saturday as the first-ever Winter Lights Festival began in Milford Pictured skaters from the ice Theater of New York were forced to perform an abbreviated version of their planned program as the ice surface on the Ann Street Park had suffered from a brief warming spell prior to the weekend. Ironically, as a crowd of several hundred observers lined the ice rink, temperatures fell to single-digits as the sun set Saturday. Although an ice storm prompted a cancellation of Wednesday activities, the festival continues throughout the week with open skating at the park and movie and puppet show performances at the adjoining Good Shepherd Church. A skating finale is planned Sunday evening, when Pike County’s own nationally ranked figure skater Jordan Hartey is to perform to music by the Delaware Valley High School Chorus. Lighted ice sculptures, which provided a background for skaters in the park, were also evident along the sidewalks on Broad Street. Organizers hoped the festival, involving the relocation of the borough rink to Ann Street would encourage greater public use. The festival was produced by the Marie Zimmerman Center for the Arts and the Milford Borough Parks and Recreation Committee.