Winterfest launches ambitious COVID-safe ‘Wanderlust Challenge’
January 16, 2021 | By Jesse McDougall
Winterfest won't be signing up teams for snow volleyball or broomball this year. Winterfest 2021 has been renamed Winterfest Wanderlust and reimagined as a multi-week scavenger hunt that's completely pandemic-friendly. 2020 file photo by Gordon Miller.
Celebrating its milestone 10th anniversary, Waterbury Winterfest is the festival the community has come to rely on to invigorate the town in the midst of winter.
While years past have involved 10 days in late January and early February filled with a myriad of wintertime activities from broomball to figure skating, snowshoe group hikes to a “snowball” dance, organizers months ago knew the usual fare wouldn’t work during a pandemic when it’s of paramount importance for people not to gather.
Not even entertaining the idea of calling it off, Winterfest organizers did just the opposite. Now after much creative brainstorming and planning, Winterfest is ready for its debut as a reimagined five-week proposition with even more things for people to do than before.
And all of it can be done with family and those in your COVID-19 safe bubble of contacts.
Winterfest presents the “Wanderlust Challenge” – an extensive scavenger hunt with a variety of activities that can be done outdoors and in, at home and literally all over town.
It will require a scorecard, some imagination and resourcefulness, but it can definitely involve getting out in the snow as well as going in to warm up by the woodstove.
The challenge begins on Friday, Jan. 29, and continues until Feb. 26 with weekly prize drawings and one grand-prize winner along the way.
The extended timeline is meant to include the school February break, providing families with more than 75 activities to try as an alternative to nixed travel plans they might have anticipated.
“We want individuals and families to engage in these activities safely without unnecessary risks,” said Winterfest president Roger Clapp.
Wanderlust rules can be found online at WaterburyWinterfest.com or on the Waterbury Winterfest Facebook page.
Organizer Eric Weeber was one of the minds behind the reimagined Wanderlust Challenge. He emphasized that anyone can participate, even without leaving home. Each activity has a point value based on difficulty such as making a snow angel (5 points), visiting the Waterbury Dam (15 points), to even photographing a snow owl (25 points!).
The challenges are organized into categories: Take a Walk, Snow Play, Create, Our Parks, Give Back, Hunker Down, Explore, Nature.
Each category has a list of activities to choose from with a wide range of time needed and difficulty. Making a paper snowflake, baking cookies or playing a board game seem pretty easy. Taking a walk to Elephant Rock is a little more adventurous as is building a dog house from snow or identifying three kinds of animal tracks.
Some of the challenges might even require a little bit of research like hiking to the chimney at the CCC Camp Smith or paying a visit to the graves of Henry Janes or Ethan Almond.
Another category lists challenges that Winterfest sponsors have devised like eating a cider donut under a solar panel or gobbling down the pub nachos from Blackback Pub.
The goal is to keep track of activities and to claim Wanderlust points, players must upload photos to the Winterfest website to document their efforts. The website will total team scores. Teams may be individuals or members of a household, and the photos need to show the team or the team’s mascot (such as the family dog) with proof that they’ve completed the challenge.
The idea is to have fun, organizers said, and show some creativity along the way.
Over the five weeks that the Wanderlust Challenge is on, the Winterfest Facebook page will feature teams’ triumphant photos and will post pop-up challenges for bonus points, Weeber said.
One grand-prize winner will be chosen based on finishing with the most cumulative Wanderlust points, but anyone uploading challenges to the website will be eligible for prizes that will include some products and mostly gift certificates from a variety of local businesses.
Waterbury Winterfest has always worked with many sponsors and has drawn customers to local businesses, but 2020 left some small businesses unable to contribute for this Winterfest. “We want to include past sponsors on social media even if they can’t donate this year,” said Weeber, “but some businesses continue to do well, and we’re thankful for their contributions.”
Another offering from Winterfest this year that can go forward despite the pandemic is a chance for people to try out a snow-ready fat bike. After demos for the big-tire two-wheelers were very popular last year, Winterfest teamed up with Bicycle Express bike shop to make a bike available to rent for $25 a day. It will be kept at Bicycle Express which also offers its own fat bike rentals, and reservations can be done on the Winterfest website.
The fat bike rentals are another way for Winterfest to raise money in support of Waterbury recreation. Winterfest has provided scholarships to recreational summer camps and grants to organizations in Waterbury which continue to support the community and the small businesses which now need it most.
Winterfest organizers hope the familiar and favorite activities will return next year when people will be able to gather for snow volleyball, trivia night and wassailing, etc. But for now they hope that this year’sCOVID-related twist will help make some new and unique Winterfest experiences and memories and perhaps some new traditions may even arise such as baking cookies for neighbors (15 points) or writing thank-you notes to first responders (10 points) or writing “Winterfest” in the snow using snowshoe footprints (15 points).
Wanderlust Challenge scorecard (download at WaterburyWinterfest.com)
