Winterfest Wrapup, 2021-22

The 11th season of Winterfest Hartford in Bushnell Park opened on Friday, November 26, 2021. The rink was open for 45 days of free skating, bringing 38,615 ice skaters into the Capital City, and giving free skating lessons to 435 kids of all ages. This year the rink was open for 352.5 hours and created 21 jobs. 4,594 carousel rides were taken, and the Bushnell Park Pump House, home to Santa’s Workshop/Photos with Santa, was open for four days, three hours each day. and hosted over 538 families from 64 different zip codes. The top five towns for Santa photos were Hartford, West Hartford, Bloomfield, New Britain, and East Hartford.

Winterfest brought some outstanding programming in addition to free ice skating. We had performances from Hartford's Proud Drill, Drum, and Dance Corp, a visit from Night Fall Hartford puppets, and skating with Chompers from the Hartford Yard Goats. We hosted two vaccination clinics and brought the mini-train back for a day of free rides, and on weekends we had giant games in the courtyard. Also, we worked with the Fresh Start Pallet Project to add additional decorations and an entrance sign for the rink. We also helped First Night Hartford bring in the new year with free ice skating available until midnight.