![]() ![]() ![]() But we do work year-round to create some of the displays for each event,” said Widi. We have approximately three people working to set up each event. The fall event takes about two months to set up and the winter event takes three months. This, being an outdoor event, allowed people to remain socially distant.įor an event this size, it takes a lot of time and effort to set up the lights. It was the perfect venue to have fun and be together safely.” With the pandemic sweeping the nation during the holiday season, it was difficult for families to get together. “We have a large family and could not safely gather indoors. Gross was a part of Hogan’s large group and she elaborated on how Winter Wonders is a great place to go with big groups of people. We first attended because we were looking for a safe place for our family to celebrate Christmas,” said attendee Joan Gross. “We’ve attended the event for the past two years. Having been the second year of the event, many of the people were returning attendees. In addition, when attendees purchased tickets they had to select a time to arrive to reduce the number of people on the trails. The second thing we do to control crowds is have a staff of people in the parking lot and along the trails to make sure everything runs smoothly.” To reduce crowding at the entrance and in the parking lot, the farm only sold tickets online. “The first thing we do is to set a limit on the number of people we sell tickets to for a particular time slot. Sandy Hill Farm owner Bill Widi spoke about what the farm did to control the crowds. Making the walk longer and more extravagant this year, though great for returning attendees, contributed to more crowds. It is worth seeing, but I would go earlier in the season or after Christmas to avoid crowds next year,” said Hogan.ĭuring the light walk, crowds were a problem due to the rise in attendance. Groups with upwards to fourteen people, like the one Hogan was a part of, were hard to corral through the paths. Though, being in the way of other groups was an issue for some. An attendee of the event, Annemarie Hogan, said, “there are great chances to take photos and see the magic of Christmas through lights.” In reality, any part of the walk was a great place to take pictures, but there were designated areas off the side of the path to take photos out of the way of other groups on the walk. Dozens of families posed in front of the light sign, one of the many photo opportunities that were offered during the walk. ![]() The light walk began with the iconic Winter Wonders sign pictured above. Admission tickets were $17.50 and purchasing tickets had to be done online to decrease lines at the entrance. The event had over 750,000 lights and included interactive structures like trains and playhouses. The self-guided walk took attendees through 14 acres of farmland and this year, the length of the walk increased by 33% and the number of lights by 50%. When walking through the event, attendees were surrounded by thousands of lights and were taken on a journey celebrating the holiday season. With her acrylics, the freedom to layer colors and experiment with light and dark, have brought excitement and the opportunity to try new subjects and revisit old ones.From November 24th to January 2nd, Sandy Hill Farm in Eliot, Maine held their second annual Winter Wonders light walk. She frequently uses her own photography as another form of expression and as a resource for subjects to paint. Trees, marbles, and the seashore come to life as she layers transparent washes of watercolor, reserving the whitest parts of the paper for the highlights. She finds great pleasure in simple compositions, and continues to strive for a pleasurable, colorful and bold painting style. She also mentions that “she has spent a lot of time developing her style and experimenting with various papers and pigments as a self-taught artist” and about how "she has always loved beautiful landscapes and finds all forms of life and light fascinating. She bought a set of paints for $1.99, along with 2 brushes and a pad of paper and she soon realized that she loved colorful expression and desired to learn more,“ Lombardo explained in her artist's statement. “After having spent most of her life in Maine, and being naturally and scientifically curious, the connection between watercolors and the natural world became an obvious one. ![]()
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