For the second year, our Smarty friends at the U.S. National Whitewater Center have turned their Upper Pond into a Winter Wonderland with ice skating and a spectacular illuminated walking trail created by a talented local artist.
Ice Skating:
Skate on an ice trail or free skate on 17,000 sq. ft of ice. Located in the Upper Pond of the Whitewater Center, the skating area has three sections: an ice trail, a free skate area and an activity zone. There is also a super cool skate-up Airstream serving hot chocolate/coffee and beer.
Smarty Details:
– Check the Activity Schedule on the day of your visit for ice skating hours.
– Skating will be available through mid-February.
– Ice Skating requires a Single Activity Pass ($20) or All Access Pass ($59 Day Pass; $219 Annual Pass).
Lights:
Lights is an illuminated walking trail that leads viewers through a series of immersive light installations featuring webs, vines, crystals and other natural features integrated into the forest. The experience offers a range of approachable, multi-sensory works created by artist Meredith Connelly that are site-specific to the Whitewater Center.
Smarty Details:
– Availability: 6:00pm – 10:00pm daily from Mid-November through February
– Price: Free and open to all ages
– Weather: Lights is a rain or shine program. In the event of severe weather, the Whitewater Center reserves the right to close the experience.
About the Artist:
Local artist Meredith Connelly is equally inspired by science, nature, and technology. Connelly illuminates her installations, often encasing them in everyday manufactured materials to reveal to their surprisingly organic qualities. To further connect and submerge viewers into her glowing environments, the artist incorporates interactive elements into her sculptures while exploring themes of perception, scale, and space.
Connelly shares, “Walking in nature is a foundational part of my creative process, and the design concepts behind Lights vividly came to life as I explored the wooded trails of the Whitewater Center. All encompassing, warm, and curious, this series of work taps into the innate connection human beings have with light and nature, bringing my work beyond the confines of manmade structures home to the spaces that inspired.”
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