Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 2/8/2022
EASTHAMPTON – While the ninth annual Easthampton WinterFest is currently chugging along, the Nashawannuck Pond Committee announced that indoor activities are either canceled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
According to a Facebook post on the Nashawannuck Pond page, the directive does not apply to business and organizations who wish to conduct events during WinterFest. “Our calendar identifies committee sponsored activities as “Featured Events,” reads the Facebook post. “All other activities are sponsored by private businesses or organizations.” People can see which events are committee-sponsored by visiting the WinterFest link.
Despite the directive, a few events are currently going on now prior to the Feb. 12 celebration. According to Beth Tiffany, a member of the six-member Nashawannuck Pond Steering Committee that organized this event, the outdoor scavenger hunt continues until Feb. 11 and the online pond trivia contest ends Feb. 12. “Our community businesses have been very generous, and we have gift certificates for all contests,” said Tiffany, adding that the photo contest officially closed last week with 55 entries.
According to Tiffany, the committee decided to cancel or postpone all committee-sponsored indoor activities for the “safety of the community” and to follow the guidance of the city’s Health Department.
“Last year was all online but we still had as much Winterfest as possible,” said Tiffany. “This year, we started out with indoor and outdoor activities but now all outdoor. So, the hub of activity on Feb. 12 will be in the area of the pond and 50 Payson Ave.” Activities on that day will include, ice carving, horse drawn wagon rides, historical ice harvesting as well as others that can be found on the website.
“All our activities have been cleared by the Board of Health to be safe outdoors,” said Tiffany. “Area businesses have been generous in sponsoring WinterFest, so please come and have fun so we can see the fruits of our labor for our community and the jewel of Easthampton, Nashawannuck Pond. This is our biggest fundraiser to continue to maintain the health and beauty of the pond.”
Updates to the calendar events can be found at https://www.nashawannuckpond.org/winterfest.html.