Winterfest is no longer a brand new thing. There has been time enough to iron out the kinks, yet, kinks remain. Since June, residents have been essentially ordered by the mayor to dream big, so here are some modest-sized dreams for improving upon what already exists.

Gimme Shelter

The rink has already been closed several days this season when it has been cold enough for ice to exist, but the skating surface got wrecked by a little drizzle. Extreme cold, extreme heat, and monsoons should close down Winterfest for a day now and then, but a little rain shower should not. A temporary canopy over the ice rink would provide shelter for skaters during light rain and would extend ice time. When severe storms are predicted, that canopy could be taken down and stored. We know that access to one of these exists — it has made appearances at Envisionfest.

At the very least, the Winterfest powers-that-be could redirect those wanting some public skating time to use the year-round indoor rink inside of the Koeppel Community Center on New Britain Avenue on days when the outdoor rink is closed. The rink affiliated with Trinity College was built before the current iteration of the Bushnell Park ice rink came into existence, yet few know about it.

That movable canopy could be brought out during the warmer months when the rink area is transformed into a space for tables at lunch time. The concrete slab is especially hot when the sun is directly overhead. Encourage loitering. A park need not be for only speedwalking at lunch time.

Besides sheltering the rink, would it absolutely kill the City to open the Pump House Gallery to the public more often? When the space is not used for photos with Santa, it could be transformed into a lounge for folks to warm up. Add a volunteer or paid staff to monitor, set up a small coffee/hot cocoa/hot cider and doughnut (Tastease?) stand inside, and provide a few comfortable chairs and couches. Give visitors an ounce of dignity by providing the indoor plumbing that exists within the building. Keeping this building open more often, with predictable hours, would perhaps keep visitors around longer. This would, of course, require the City create jobs for a few people, and even track down a reliable food vendor — something that has been unsuccessful in the past, as evidenced by those snack shacks that were present-but-boarded-up in seasons gone by.

The question is, how can the Pump House Gallery be integrated better into Winterfest specifically and the park in general? There is, on the average day, nothing especially inviting about the patio. It seems that the tree lot from previous years did not work out, but what could be done in its place to make this area seem alive? Even if there is no intention to sell trees, could a few — even, or especially, potted ones — be moved onto the patio to make it seem less like a sea of concrete? The trees could be useful, too, serving as a lost and found. Could we begin by improving signage? What about hauling those tables and chairs out of storage so families have another seating option? Are there any food carts that could be invited to use this space? It might be too cold to expect musicians to play outside by the rink, but could the City arrange for lunchtime performances inside the Pump House Gallery one day each week?

Ambience

Beautify the Rink: An ice rink is not the most inherently attractive feature, but even utilitarian objects can be spiffed up. Start with a fresh coat of paint and find ways to hide the uglier bits of infrastructure, like the bleachers. The park has already been made less attractive with the useful-but-boring keep-off-the-lawn fencing. We get it. But can the area around the rink — the major attraction of the park for two months of the year, especially when the carousel is closed — be more festive? Hartford hosts a number of performance venues and companies — Hartford Stage, TheaterWorks, HartBeat Ensemble, and numerous school and college drama programs, to name a few. Enlist people with experience in set design if the ideas for creating atmosphere are not coming to mind. Are there any backdrops in town not being  used at the moment? If Hartford wants something good, the City should be ready to pay the artists who give their insights and efforts, but instead of balking at that, it is worth remembering what has been the mantra of some since June: dream big and take risks.

Lose the HPD cruiser: It is painful to acknowledge that some people will only visit Hartford if given the illusion of safety through the presence of their own personal officer. Should we even humor that ridiculous mindset? Knowing that those with such beliefs are also those who often have money to spare, is it possible to compromise by ditching the cruiser — which looks like it is on the ready for hauling away people for the smallest of infractions — in favor of patrols by officers on foot, bicycle, or horseback? Any of those would be socially and environmentally friendlier. Seeing the red and blue lights from across the park gives the impression that there is trouble afoot on the ice, which seems like that whole safety illusion thing is backfiring.

Simple Programming

Adults Only Rink Time: Expand hours and let those be open to only grown folk who don’t want to contend with children and teenagers. It might be really difficult to imagine keeping activity going in the park from, say, 8-11 p.m., but there is no reason not to do this on Friday or Saturday evenings. Give people something active and wholesome to do after dinner. If there is a bit of laughter echoing into nearby residences, so be it. That’s the price that comes with living in downtown.

Up the Music Game: It may be natural to expect holiday (and let’s be real, it’s Christmas-specific overall) music in the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but for the month after, our ears deserve something better. That thing should not be just a commercial radio station broadcast. Being on the ice during a commercial break is annoying and sucks all the joy out.

Piping in broadcast from the locally-produced non-commercial radio stations would reduce commercial breaks significantly, giving listeners only a couple of public service announcements per hour. WWUH and WRTC are two such options. It is even possible to coordinate with DJs for themed music nights.

In a day when it takes almost no effort to put together a decent playlist on something like Spotify, better choices could be made. Someone would have to navigate licensing, but maybe that would be a fun diversion for Acting Corp Counsel.
In any case, here are some suggestions for themed music nights, some of which could be limited to that suggested adults-only time: Soul, Grunge, 80’s, 90’s Rap and Hip Hop, Sinatra, Rockabilly…those are a few ideas from about 30 seconds of brainstorming. Give us five minutes and we will have something more interesting than whatever ten songs are in heavy rotation at the moment.

The Suggestion Box explores things done well elsewhere that could realistically be adapted and adopted in Hartford; it also offers creative solutions that seem reasonable for a city of this size and with this economy.