If you're like me and live for the cool winter months when you can do all sorts of things outdoors like ice fishing and snowshoeing, then the Hanford Mills Ice Harvest Festival is calling your name!

It's hard for us to imagine now because advances in technology have drastically changed our world, but there was a time when ice harvests were a really big deal to small communities. And to our ancestors. Ice festivals were such a big deal because, before the days of refrigerators, it was really important to harvest ice in the winter in order to preserve food when the warmer months rolled around.

If you've always been fascinated with history and would like to get a glimpse into the way the world around us used to be, you'll have that opportunity to do that at the Hanford Mills Ice Harvest Festival. This will be your chance to step back in time by walking out on the frozen mill pond to help cut and move blocks of ice using historic tools.

If walking on ice isn't your thing, there will be plenty of other activities for you to check out, both inside and outside including blacksmithing demonstrations, cooking demonstrations, local farmers and vendors and much more. Admission rates do apply, but if you've got kids 12 and under, their admission is free!

The Hanford Mills Ice Harvest Festival is held each year on the first Saturday in February, so be sure to save the date because this year's event will be on February 3rd, 2018 from 10 am to 3 pm.

Hanford Mills Ice Harvest Festival is an easy drive, about an hour outside of Binghamton and this is how to find your way there-

More From 98.1 The Hawk