(Photo Provided) Tyson Whistler of the Whistler Ice Works of Marietta.

The coolest festival in the area will be held noon to 6 p.m. Saturday in Marietta.

The Marietta Ice Festival will feature ice carvings by Tyson Whistler of Marietta, a chef who began sculpting ice in 2005 when he worked at the Lafayette Hotel.

From making carvings that were used at the buffet, his work, venues and clientele have grown each year.

“Now almost 20 years later, I got a good little downtown business,” said Whistler, the owner and proprietor of Whistler Ice Works.

Whistler will carve all the 16 sculptures that will be placed at sponsoring businesses and will do a live presentation at 1:30 p.m. at the armory on Front Street.

(Photo Provided) Tyson Whistler gives a live presentation at the Armory during last year’s Ice Festival in Marietta. This year’s festival is from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday when Whistler of the Whistler Ice Works will do a carving of a fire-breathing dragon for the audience at 1:30 p.m. at the Armory on Front Street. The festival is organized by Marietta Main Street.

Sculptures will be on display at the armory and at sponsoring businesses: American Flags and Poles, 276 Front St.; Clutch Collective and Wit & Whimsy, 152 Front St.; the Cook’s Shop, 180 Front St.; Lafayette Hotel, 101 Front St.; Just a Jar aDesign Press, 208 Front St.; Marietta Brewing Co., 167 Front St.; Marietta Community Foundation, 100 Putnam St.; Marietta Makery and Threads Boutique, 177 and 179 Front St.; Peoples Bank, 138 Putnam St.; Peoples Bank Theatre, 222 Putnam St.; and Tiber Way Grille, 10 Tiber Way.

“There’s going to be a good separation of sculptures so people can walk around town all day,” Whistler said.

The Ice Festival is organized by Marietta Main Street.

While the festival is from noon to 6 p.m., carvings will remain up for as long as possible, Jen Tinkler, executive director of Marietta Main Street, said.

“The sculptures will be up until they melt,” she said.

Cold is good, maybe not so much for the crowd, but rain is a problem, Whistler said. Crowds in the past have been good regardless of the weather, even in the rain, he said.

“No matter what the weather is, the crowd has always been good,” Whistler said.

This year’s live carving exhibition, sponsored by the Glenwood Community, will be a fire-breathing dragon, he said. Whistler said he’s carved dragons before and knows the cuts to make, but not before a live audience.

“Now I’ve got to figure out how to do it live,” he said.