Winter Lights Festival is Jan. 18

The annual Winter Lights Festival hosts its annual Mac-n-Cheese & Chili Cook-Off, a fun event with food, music, and camaraderie, from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18, at Saint Patrick's Parish Hall, 111 East High St., Milford.

The $5 admission per person at the door will let you sample and vote for dozens of mac-n-cheese and chili dishes made by home and professional chefs. Kids four years and younger sample dishes for free.

The live music will play and the craft brews will be poured continue until the winners are announced at about 3 p.m.

Milford’s Marc Von Em will entertain the crowd with soulful, acoustic-driven, pop-rock. He’s a prolific songwriter and entertainer with three studio albums. He has toured the world with The Rob Thomas Band (Matchbox 20) and performs as a solo artist at venues throughout the tristate and Hudson Valley region.

Ice skating at Ann Street Park

It doesn't look like the ice show, featuring a professional ice dance troupe and ice sculptor, is coming back. These events were cancelled several years in a row because of too-high temperatures.

But every year, the dedicated volunteers from Winter Lights build an ice-skating rink at Ann Street Park. The 100-by-100-foot ice-skating rink is open to the public for free all winter. There’s even a heated shack to warm up.

Weather dependent, the rink is up and stays as long as the temperatures cooperate.