The weather would appear to be appropriate for Branch County's two big winter celebrations going on today. Downtown Coldwater will feature ice sculptures aplenty for Ice Fest, with a number of sculptures coming from Randy Finch from the Food Network program "Ice Brigade".

Meanwhile, dozens of activities, contests, food, and fun kick off today with the 51st Annual Quincy Chain Of Lakes Tip Up Festival. In case you missed it, this past week's long stretch of chilly weather allowed ice to re-form over Marble Lake. Unfortunately, it's not thick enough to be able to hold the scheduled snowmobile and quad races on the lake. Those events have been scrubbed, but everything else is still on, including this afternoon's 32nd Annual Polar Bear Splash and tonight's Fisherman's Ball at the Tip-Up Island Pavilion.