WATERVILLE — Jonathan Railo placed the glass rods horizontally against the torch flame and started twisting one into the shape of an icicle.

Then he held the rods vertically as the glass stretched downward.

“A lot of times we use gravity as a tool that will straighten out the icicle,” he said.

Railo, 36, of Mt. Vernon was conducting a glassblowing demonstration Saturday outside the Paul J. Schupf Art Center as part of the seventh annual Joy to the Ville.

Hosted by Waterville Creates, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville Public Library and Children’s Discovery Museum, the event included mostly free activities, including clay ornament making, sewing of fabric gift wraps, creating mushroom ornaments using hand stitching, movie showings and live performances of “The Nutcracker” by Bossov Ballet Theatre.

“This marks our second anniversary in this building,” said Shannon Haines, president and CEO of Waterville Creates.

Jonathan Railo demonstrates how he makes glass icicle ornaments Saturday during Joy to the Ville at the Paul J. Schupf Art Center in downtown Waterville. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Haines was with her daughter, Naomi, 8, and they were about to take part in a felted mushroom ornament making class.

“We are seeing about 100,000 people come through the arts center every year for theater events, movies, gallery exhibits, concerts, dance recitals and art classes,” Haines said. “We’re really excited about the numbers, and an event like today’s really shows us how important our place is in the community.”

Children and adults were visiting the Holiday Bazaar shop, which featured hand-crafted pottery, jewelry, wood crafts, cards and hand-sewn items including aprons and tea towels. The Colby College Museum of Art was selling art books and giving away little pencil sharpener tubes containing colored pencils. Children were creating solstice luminaries from small paper bags on which they stenciled shapes and cut them out.

Willow Spieldenner, 5, of Fairfield, stenciled the shape of a little girl onto a bag and added a flower shape. She said she would cut the shapes out and place a battery-operated tea light inside the bag.

“I’ll put it in my room so I can see it glow,” she said. “I’m really taking my time.”

Her parents, Sara and Mike Spieldenner, watched patiently as Willow, a kindergartener at Benton Elementary School, outlined the shapes on the bag using a marker. The couple said they loved attending Joy to the Ville.

“It’s nice having things to do in the community,” Mike Spieldenner said.

Just after 11:30 a.m., C.J. Gilligan, event and volunteer coordinator for Waterville Creates, was handing out free slices of pizza at the east end of the center where, through a glass wall overlooking Castonguay Square, Santa Claus would soon start greeting children at Kringleville, his mini-village. Free popcorn and hot cocoa also was being offered to those who attended Saturday’s events.

Chris Melville, Waterville Creates director of marketing and communications, said all three cinemas upstairs were showing “The Muppet Christmas Carol,” and about 180 children and their parents were attending.

“At 2 o’clock we have a sold out performance of ‘The Nutcracker’ at the Opera House and that’s at least 800 seats,” Melville said. “It’s like a perfect way to celebrate the holiday season.”

Outside, where temperatures dipped into the low 20s, Railo, the glassblower, drew crowds as he demonstrated icicle making and answered lots of questions from spectators.

He explained how he lost his driver’s license for speeding when he was about 18 and spent a lot of time at the home of a friend who did glassblowing. With a lot of time on his hands, Railo learned how to do it himself and really enjoyed it. He teaches classes on glassblowing at Stained Glass Express in Manchester where his pieces are sold. They also are sold at the Kennebec Cabin Company store in that town.

Amy Veilleux, 66, of Winslow, was mesmerized by Railo’s craft and skills and said she thinks it is great that Waterville hosts such artists and welcomes the public, free of charge, to watch them work. She said she may even take a glassblowing class herself.

“I think it’s fascinating, personally,” Veilleux said.

With Railo was friend and fellow glassblower Angie Furrow of Whitefield who is known as “Mrs. Claws” because she specializes in creating lobster claw figures and sells them all over Maine and as far south as Cape Cod. She said she has been glassblowing for 25 years.

“I came to check it out and help him today,” Furrow said of Railo. “He’s my buddy.”

Joy to the Ville is sponsored by the city of Waterville, Central Maine Newspapers, Kennebec Savings Bank, MaineGeneral Health and Back Office Solutions.