Winter Carnival 2012 Recap

We'd like to thank all the organizers, participants, and attendees of our Second Annual Winter Carnival for making it such a success. If you missed it, or simply would like to relive the magic, read on.

After a long stretch of mild weather, we began to wonder if our carnival might not end up lacking in wintry atmosphere. As luck would have it, a snowstorm hit the day before the carnival, and we arrived at the garden Friday morning to sufficient snow and a more-than-sufficient icy chill in the air.

Jeff Filipiak, Milwaukee's "Ambassador of Snow," began the day with a short talk encouraging attendees to appreciate all the gifts Wisconsin winters have to offer.

To see Jeff's photo album from the Winter Carnival, click here, and to read more about his project, check out MilwaukeeSnow.com.

The Carnival kicked into high gear:

Attendees made Valentines in the upstairs art studio,

took a docent-led tour of the sculpture garden,

and joined Sara Caron & Ashley Janke's day-long Capture the Flag Tournament.

Contestants assembling.

Meanwhile, guest artist Gitte Bog began her all day tailgate project. In the week leading up to the carnival, Bog asked Milwaukeeans to fill out two surveys. One asked several questions about Milwaukee, the other asked questions about food. Using the results from these surveys, Bog prepared two soups: Everybody's Favorite Vegetable Soup and Milwaukee Soup.

Carnival attendees stopped by her tailgate to sample the soups, and received a napkin containing a message from the Milwaukee survey. It was an opportunity to experience Milwaukee in new ways, plus the soup provided some warm nourishment for those braving the cold.

Gitte Bog is a Danish-born artist who is currently located in Mexico City. Learn more about her work here.

There were multiple ways to score points in the Capture the Flag tournament, and only one of them involved actually capturing flags. All attendees joined either Elisabeth Albeck's Blue Team or Cody Frei's Orange Team, and earned points for their team by participating in events. Points were earned for taking a Tree Walk with Linda Stehman...

for painting the pond,

and for participating in checkpoint projects. The first checkpoint project was Neil Gasparka's Tivoli Ice Slide, a track for racing icy objects.

The blue and orange teams raced each other for points.

The second check point was Richard Galling's plein air challenge. Participants had 15 minutes to complete a plein air painting. Gloves had to be kept on for maximum encumbrance.

To earn points in a warmer setting, participants dipped candles in the art studio.

Finally, after a long day of activities, people gathered in the foyer to regain feeling in their fingers and toes and to learn the results of the days tournament.

After some complicated tallying, Sara and Ashley announced the winners...

Elisabeth Albeck's Blue Team!

The Lynden Cup

After all the hot cider and cookies were gone, it was time to draw the curtain on a successful Second Annual Winter Carnival. We hope to see you next year for the third one!

To see pictures from the Journal Sentinel, click here.