Erie Arts & Culture and the Presque Isle Partnership have made the decision to sunset the Great Lake Ice Break.
In a news release, officials say that too many variables prevented the organizations from successfully launching the fundraiser. They say this is partly due to winter weather conditions being more difficult to predict as well as construction currently occurring at the identified site for the fundraiser.
According to officials with Erie Arts & Culture and the Presque Isle Partnership, they have made the decision to sunset the fundraiser, “believing that it may well be one of the best annual traditions that never was.”
The fundraiser was launched back in 2019 as a joint fundraising initiative for the two organizations.
The Great Lake Ice Break was a game of chance which centered around placing a large sculpture onto the frozen waters of Presque Isle Bay. Community members would place predictions on the date and time that the ice would break and the sculpture would fall into the water. Any funds raised through this would support the mission and operations of both non-profits.
In a statement, Erie Arts & Culture Executive Director Patrick Fisher says that the sculpture has not been placed out on the ice over the past two winters and it looks unlikely that it will be successful this year, despite their best efforts.
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Regardless of how fun the idea may be, we simply cannot keep delaying the launch of this fundraiser to the following year. We tried to innovate and diversify how our organizations raise funds, but we simply met our match in trying to predict winter weather conditions and all the variables that go into safely implementing this imitative. It’s time to call it quits and think about other ways to achieve our intended outcomes and fundraising goals.”
Patrick Fisher, Executive Director of Erie Arts & Culture
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