'Ice!' heats up

It's only 9 degrees in the tent housing the new display "Ice!" at National Harbor -- so cold organizers actually loan you a parka before you enter -- and that's exactly why it's proving a hot attraction this winter.

The 15,000-square-foot exhibit, which features a nativity, penguins and giant candy canes and a handful of other holiday scenes carved from 2 million pounds of ice, opened Nov. 19 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center. And readers are reporting back that tickets last Saturday night were all snapped up, leaving some folks, yes, out in the cold.

I checked, and sure enough, only a few of the 30-minute blocks were still available for this Sunday. Surprisingly, Saturday had more time slots, but don't expect them to last.

What have we learned? Get tickets in advance. And check out our photo gallery so you can see what it's like before you go.

But if you're shut out this weekend, don't panic: There will be plenty of weekends to go. The frigid temperatures inside "Ice!" will help the sculptures hold up just fine until the show closes Jan. 10.

-- Lavanya Ramanathan