Collingwood’s new winter festival arrives this weekend with three days of outdoor activities planned - all banking on cold temperature and snow on the ground.
The Art of Winter is a new event hosted by the town and it was designed to help participants enjoy and embrace Collingwood’s winter.
The event is based on getting creative, active, and connected, and being outdoors in the coldest months.
The event will include trials for winter sports and activities, a warm fire, and family-friendly programming.
“We were inspired by two unique features of Collingwood – the arts community and the way Collingwood embraces winter activities,” said Karen Cubitt manager of culture and events for the Collingwood Parks, Recreation, and Culture Department.
On Friday, Jan. 24, Art of Winter begins with public skating on the outdoor rink from noon to 8 p.m.
There will be an event information station set up in the Central Park Arena lobby where staff will be able to provide event details and complimentary runny nose nursery supplies.
From 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, and from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday professional carvers will be hosting a workshop to demonstrate their snow carving skills at Central Park. If you’re going to enter the amateur carving competition on Saturday, this is a good place to get some expert advice.
The Art of Winter will feature two professional snow carving teams for the whole weekend. They will be working on their showpiece carvings - one per team. They start with a cylinder of snow eight feet high and eight feet in diameter and carve it into a sculpture made of snow.
The amateur snow carving competition takes place Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday at Central Park ball diamond one. Teams can compete to create the best carving within the allotted time. Professional carvers will be standing by as lifelines.
On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. bring a flashlight and pick up a game card at the Central Park Arena lobby for the Watchful Eyes Flashlight-Powered scavenger hunt, which encourages participants to find forest creatures hiding in the trees along the trail.
There will be hot drinks available at the Central Park Arena canteen at the same time, which are available for purchase by donation to the Collingwood Youth Centre.
On saturday, try curling at the Collingwood Curling Club. On-ice curling instruction will be provided, bring clean running shoes, and the cost of the clinic is $25. Pre-register by emailing Brent Lanktree at [email protected]
There will be an outdoor family fun zone at the Central Park Ball Diamond from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. including try-it activities like three-person skis, snowshoes, snow hockey, games and a creative station.
At the outdoor rink, there will be parent and tot skating from 11 a.m. to noon and public skating from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, followed by family shinny from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and open shinny from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
On Saturday there will also be a Rock the Rink public skate on the Outdoor Rink featuring 80s and 90s tunes by DJ Aaron White.
From 11 a.m. to noon on Saturday you can also try sledge skating and sledge hockey indoors at Central Park Arena.
There will be a fireside lounge set up next to the outdoor rink Saturday and Sunday, and a concert by the fire at 11 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. on Saturday and at 1 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. on Sunday.
All Art of Winter activities take place in and around Central Park.
For the full schedule, click here.
