Upcoming Eagle Ice Festival Promises Weekend of Eagle-Themed Fun in Alton

ALTON - Community members are invited to the Alton Eagle Ice Festival in January, where you can meet live eagles, watch fire performers, enjoy an ice-carving competition, and more.

From 5–10 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 2, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, various locations across Alton will host Eagle Ice Fest events and fun. The main base is at FLOCK Food Truck Park, the National Great Rivers Museum and the Audubon Center at Riverlands. Many downtown small businesses will also offer specials and more.

“It’s going to be a super duper exciting event,” said Grace Sakry, Destination, Sales and Partnership Coordinator for Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau. “There’s something so special about this area and the people in it and getting to celebrate that as a region.”

From 5–10 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, the fun kicks off at FLOCK Food Truck Park with live fire performers, music by local group Hollywood 5, and the ice-carving competition. Attendees can snack and sip, with plenty of food trucks, a craft cocktail bar, and a whiskey sampling by Switchgrass Spirits. Kids can enjoy face-painting and s’mores kits.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 3, a live American bald eagle and its handler will be present for photos and questions. Ice-carving will continue throughout the day at FLOCK, with food trucks and a craft cocktail bar available as well as kids’ activities like face-painting and balloon animals.

The Audubon Center at Riverlands will also offer guided hikes, $10 ticketed eagle meet-and-greets, crafts, and vendors from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. The National Great Rivers Museum will have a variety of free family-friendly fun, from dam tours to crafts and bird-focused activities.

Many local businesses will also have deals and activities in-store. New this year, if you get an Eagle Ice Fest passport stamped at three participating locations by making a purchase of $10 or more, you will receive a gift from the Alton Visitor Center.

Old Bakery Beer Company will also have an eagle-themed market with local artisans and craft vendors, as well as a special Eagle Ice Festival beer. A few local hotels are also offering deals through Great Rivers and Routes to promote the festival.

Because the festival encompasses multiple locations, Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau will offer a free shuttle on Saturday, looping between FLOCK, the Audubon Center, the National Great Rivers Museum, and downtown Alton’s shopping district. You can learn more about the details of the Eagle Ice Festival here.

Sakry noted that the festival aims to bring the Riverbend together while also marking the migration of eagles along the rivers. She pointed out that you can see a lot of eagles when traveling down the River Road during the winter months, and the festival is a celebration of that.

“We are a super big eagle hub,” she said. “Those eagles travel along the rivers. Because we have the confluence of the rivers right here in our region, it’s super exciting, and we have a high, high, high population of eagles during this time. So it’s celebrating those eagles coming into our region and getting to celebrate their beauty and just how amazing they are.”

This year’s festival promises to be bigger than previous years, and Sakry can’t wait to see the community come together for a fun experience. She encourages people to visit the official Eagle Ice Festival webpage at the Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau website or the official Facebook event page to learn more.

“Not only are we celebrating those eagles, but we also get to celebrate the community we live in, the region we live in. It is so exciting that we all get to come together,” she added. “Not only is it just us individually going out to support and to see this beauty that we get to have where we live and work and play every single day, but also, it’s getting to do that with our community, our local business owners, our friends and family. It’s just such a cool experience.”

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