More than 10,000 residents of New York City and its outlying neighborhoods converged on Central Park’s East Meadow January 29 for the city Parks and Recreation Winter Festival. Participants had so much fun sampling cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and tubing that announcements had to be made repeatedly reminding the neophyte wintersports enthusiasts that it was time for them to return their borrowed gear.
For the first time since 1996, BEWI Productions and the City of New York Parks and Recreation Department joined efforts to bring a day of snow sports to New Yorkers. The Winter Festival featured free instruction and equipment demos on five acres of snow.
“We haven’t had a decent snowstorm here for four years,” said Henry Stern, city parks commissioner, “so it’s great to see thousands of New Yorkers enjoying this beautiful day.” Snowmaking crews and equipment from Killington, Ascutney Mountain and Smugglers’ Notch, Vt., were shipped south to enhance Central Park’s thin snowcover. More than 500 pairs of snowshoes and 500 pairs of cross-country skis were made available free of charge by Tubbs and Atlas Snowshoes and the Cross-Country Ski Areas Association (CCSAA).
“I’m a firm believer that if we want to grow winter sports, we have to give more people a sample of it,” said Bernie Weichsel, president of BEWI Productions. “It’s just old-fashioned marketing.” The New York Times carried full-page ads before the event and it was covered by CBS’ “Early Show” and local affiliates.
For most of the participants, the festival was their first opportunity to try snowshoes and cross-country skis.
Joining Tubbs and Atlas in sponsoring the festival were The New York Times, Radio Disney, Ask.com, Sports Authority, the VSAA, Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express, Vibram and Neos shoes, the Stowe Area Association, Stonyfield Farms yogurts, Glacial Age Water and the CCSAA.
