VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Teddy Sympson: Purple people love Caz!
Ryan Bell: Caz, as in Cazenovia, that is. And as for the purple people, well, Betsy and Teddy are still working on what that means. They’re out enjoying the Cazenovia winter fest, an annual tradition in the village consisting of fun for all ages. 20East, in the center of Cazenovia, is one of many businesses that help to make the festival happen. Owner Mackenzie Housman says it’s not just a bunch of events…
McKenzie Houseman: But trying to embrace the cold in the winter and have some fun with it. So, we have the coolest stuff around here, so why not take advantage of it.
Bell: Across the street at the Cazenovia Public Library is where one of the first events kicks off.
Debora Millson: They can pick up a sheet here, and you can go visit business windows through downtown. There is a story walk, and also, there is a bear in the window with a bear with a letter and a little scavenger hunt.
Bell: One family enjoying that scavenger hunt is the Sympson’s, who made the trek from Manlius.
Betsy Sympson: We just finished the Cazenovia Public Library’s Winter Fest Story Stroll.
Heather Sympson: Along the store windows, we read the book ‘The World Needs More Purple People’
Bell: Unfortunately, warmer weather in recent years has limited some events.
Houseman: We couldn’t have the ice skating, we were supposed to have a sleigh ride from Lorenzo to Meyer’s Creek, but they just walked it, so we made the best of it.
Bell: According to meteorologists, Central New York will finish below historical averages in snowfall. However, it will be the snowiest winter this decade and as you can see behind me Cazenovia Lake is frozen over for the winter fest. Back with the cold weather are the ice sculptures made by Cazenovia High School Students.
Amanda Kogut: My oldest daughter, who’s a junior, always goes down and helps with the snow sculptures, and my son is in high school for the first year, so hopefully, he’ll go down and do it. But yeah, its good, it gets the kids out of the house. Because they’re always in the house.
Bell: There are too many to list, but other events include public ice skating at Burton Street Park. Back at the library, a knitting display with works made by community members. Horse-drawn sleigh rides at Lamplit Farm, including a brand new sleigh this year. And the fan-favorite cocoa crawl through the downtown on Saturday. So Teddy, what does it mean to be a purple person?
Teddy Sympson: To be like nice and honest and kind
Bell: In Cazenovia, Ryan Bell, NCC News.
CAZENOVIA, N.Y. (NCC News) – Heather Sympson and her children Betsy and Teddy made the short trip across NY 92 from one small town to an even smaller village. The family headed from its home in Manlius to the village of Cazenovia for its annual winter fest.
In the depths of winter, family entertainment in these small towns can be hard to come by, but the Sympsons looked forward to four days of fun sponsored by local businesses in the region.
“We are going to do the sleigh rides at Meyers Creek, the Blacksmith Drink, where he makes the beer at Lorenzo’s, and the smores at Madison County Distillery,” Heather Sympson said.
The festival, held Feb. 6-9, included over 20 winter-themed events. On opening day, the Sympsons participated in the Cazenovia Public Library’s Story Stroll.
“The kids can pick up a sheet here, and then they can go visit the business windows through the downtown where there is a story walk. There is a bear with a letter in each window spelling out the story and a little scavenger hunt,” said Debora Millson, a youth services coordinator at the library.
On the story stroll, Betsy and Teddy Sympson deciphered the message ‘purple people love Caz,’ which Teddy said means “to be nice and honest and kind.”
It was that message that radiated through the small village. McKenzie Houseman, owner of 20East in downtown Cazenovia, said the event means more to the community than just a get-together at local bars and restaurants.
“I think everyone around here gets a little tired of the cold and the wind and the snow,” Houseman said. “Winter fest is about trying to embrace the cold in the winter and make some fun with it.”
This was the first winter fest in recent memory that included all winter activities. In previous years, public ice skating as well as snow and ice sculpture carving had been canceled due to a lack of cold weather.
This year, the snow sculptures were made by Cazenovia High School students and placed in Memorial Park for all to see.
“My oldest daughter, who is a junior, always goes down and helps with the sculptures,” Amanda Kogut said. It gets the kids out of the house because they’re always in the house.”
Although the winter enthusiasts of Cazenovia are happy to see the frosty weather return, Houseman believes that last year’s lack of snow allowed more people to get involved.
“I think last year because there was no snow, some older people or people who didn’t think they could do the snowshoeing or cross-country skiing felt like they could participate more, so that was really fun,” Houseman said.
This year, she expected to see a larger turnout than ever, with events like ice skating and snow sculptures for the younger crowd and a kitting display with hot cocoa for the older generation.
Saturday is when the major events took place, with the aforementioned sleigh rides provided by Lamplit Farms, lantern-lit snowshoeing at Meier’s Creek Brewing, and the fan-favorite cocoa crawl across Albany Street.
On Sunday, the winter fest wrapped up with more snowshoeing, yoga, and a Super Bowl food pickup at Nelson’s Creamery.