Central Park

The Daily Plant : Friday, January 5, 2001

PARKS ANNOUNCES WINTER FESTIVAL 2001: SKI VERMONT IN CENTRAL PARK

Thursday January 4, 2001 Manhattan Borough Commissioner Adrian (A-Train) Benepe and Executive Director of the Vermont Ski Areas Association David Dillon addressed the media at a press conference to announce Winter Festival 2001 which will be held this Saturday January 6, 2001 on Central Park's East Meadow off 5th Avenue at 99th Street.

With last weekend's blizzard, Mother Nature helped Parks set the stage for a festival that will bring Vermont to Central Park. From 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. this Saturday, Parks will host dozens of winter activities, including snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, snow tubing, a snow sculpture contest, nature tours, and more. 500 free pairs of snowshoes from Tubbs and Atlas will fit feet of all sizes, and novices can receive expert instruction in the fastest growing winter sport. For ski-lovers, 300 free pairs of cross-country skis, boots, poles and bindings will also be made available thanks to the Cross Country Ski Areas Association. Plenty of heavy-duty rubber tubes will be on hand for kids to slide down the Meadow's slopes. The all-free, all-day festivities also include snow survival lessons from our Urban Park Rangers and a demonstration of "Skijoring," the latest sport for man and dog. There will be snowmakers on hand from Killington, Okemo, and Smuggler's Notch to lend a hand to nature.

If they're sapped of energy after all that sport, visitors can stroll around the Vermont Village and refresh themselves in a 16 by 12-foot sugarhouse, where lessons in maple syrup making come with free tastes of Sugar on Snow, a Vermont special. Free tastes of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Coffee will divert thoughts from cold fingers and red noses, and serenading visitors while they sip, Ron Trotta, Winter Festival Entertainer and Emcee, will sing a special Winter Festival anthem.

True to New York City's reputation as a place where anything is possible, Saturday's event reinvents the East Meadow in the image of a snow-covered Vermont town with prices no resort could beat. For athletes, artists, kids, residents, tourists, and lovers of the great outdoors, WinterFestival 2001: Ski Vermont in Central Park will be a memorable treat when one of the precious gems in Parks' Emerald Empire dresses itself in a sparkling, diamond white.

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO IN THE PLANT
(Friday, January 8, 1988)

1987: "THE YEAR OF RECREATION"

Last year, Recreation kept New Yorkers hopping, skipping, jumping and running by offering more programs than ever before. Highlights of the year were showcased in a free multi-media exhibition at the Arsenal North entitled "1987: The Year of Recreation" featuring nearly 400 photographs, videotapes, slide shows and posters chronicling a rich variety of recreational programs.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"Words like winter snowflakes."

Homer (c. 700 B.C.)

Know Before You Go

Harlem Meer Center (formerly Lasker Rink)

Harlem Meer Center