A holiday weekend of winter fun is coming to downtown Cambridge the weekend of January 16, 2026 when the Cambridge Ice & Oyster Festival returns for its fifth year with an action-packed event full of activities celebrating Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The theme for 2026 is “Celebrating America’s 250th”.
The festival is a Free, Friendly, Family Fun event featuring dozens of ice sculptures, oysters, ice games, photo ops, craft beverages, live music, and more. The event kicks off Friday, January 16th from 5 to 8 pm and then will be open on Saturday, January 17th from 11 am to 7 pm.
The event is once again presented by the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort, Spa and Marina with the support of many Mid-Shore businesses and organizations. It will feature dozens of dazzling 3D ice sculptures reflecting the imagery of Dorchester County (The Heart of the Chesapeake) and America’s History. Attendees can also enjoy a selection of wild and farm-raised oysters, craft beer and cocktails served at ice bars, hot chocolate, s’mores at open flame fire pits, and other favorite foods.
The Ice & Oyster Festival grounds span the parking lots behind Chesapeake College in downtown Cambridge from Cannery Way (400 block of Race St.) to Blue Ruin Plaza with more sculptures on Race and Poplar Streets. Live music will be featured on two stages.
Throughout the festival site, 3D sculptures carved from more than 400,000 pounds of ice will be displayed while master carvers will show off their artistry with live demonstrations. An ice slide for the young ones, duck hunting blind and the graffiti wall are among the many prior year favorites that are back and provide great photo opportunities. Kids of all ages can try their skill at popular ice games, including a mini golf putting course. New this year is a walk-through ice maze to challenge your abilities to navigate inside frozen walls. There will be many other sculptures that represent the heritage of the shore and America’s 250 years of history.
Raw oysters on the half shell and other preparations will be sold by the watermen of Dorchester County (Dorchester Seafood Heritage Association) along with several of the region’s top oyster farms including MadHouse Oysters, Choptank Terrapin Oyster Co, Madison Bay Seafood/Farm Creek, and Coastal Maryland Oyster Co. The many restaurants surrounding the festival will be open to provide food for those not so enamored by oysters.
Attendees can chill out with a craft beer or cocktail at the festival’s ice bar and then warm up with family members at one of fire pits while roasting s’mores and sipping hot chocolate.
A Synthetic Ice Rink and Winter Wonderland is at the Hyatt being run in partnership with Blackwater Adventures. A free shuttle will be running between the ice rink and the downtown festival.
The Rescue Fire Company Train Garden will once again be open during the festival for viewing of the amazing display with a 90-year plus history.
The Cambridge Ice and Oyster Fest is produced by the Dorchester Chamber of Commerce and Ice Lab with support from Cambridge Main Street and Dorchester County Tourism.
Ice Sculpture Sponsors at the time of this press release include:
Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Resort & Spa, TreeHouse Foods, C & K Lord, Inc., Whitten Retirement Solutions, Farm Creek Insurance, Bay Country/Safehouse Security, Yacht Maintenance Company, Renewal by Andersen of Greater Philadelphia, City of Cambridge, Dorchester County Tourism & Economic Development, Preston Automotive Group, GKD Metal Fabrics, Koski Enterprises, BayVanguard Bank, The Powell Legacy Group of Coldwell Banker Realty, Inc. Realtors, DELCO Packaging Products, Inc., Sharon Real Estate, State Farm - Davis Insurance, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science/Horn Point Environmental Lab, Layton’s Chance Vineyard and Winery, R Brooks & Son, Hongatonk Oysters/Madison Bay Seafood, Simmons Center Market, Benson & Mangold, Fairchild Properties, LLC, Vintage 414, IRONMAN Maryland, Geo-Technology Associates, Shattered Glass, and Thomas's Fine Jewelry
For more information, visit the festival website at https://iceoysterfest.com/. Entertainment schedules and weather updates will be posted on the festival’s Facebook page.
