Flake Effect

Longtime Winterfest planners Bill Cooper and Ann Goehner detail the fun and hard work that goes into the annual event

The New Times Interview

Like the season it celebrates with its varying amounts of snow and cold, Syracuse Winterfest has seen some lean years and some busy years. And while the success of the annual festival isn’t linked with La Nina (like this snow-laden winter is), it’s weathered its share of rough patches. Lately, though, the 26-year-old, mid-February fest has brought an upswing in activities and attendance.

Credit for staying the course and marshalling Winterfest to its current success goes to Bill Cooper, who has been president of the organization since 1987. Ann Goehner has the title secretary-treasurer, but she’s nearly as involved as Cooper in keeping the dream alive. Both hold the same positions with the Updowntowners, a group charged with promoting the social and economic growth of downtown Syracuse.

Syracuse Winterfest really started to take off as a go-to event after Cooper and Goehner began gathering activities that were already on the calendar under the fest’s umbrella. So while a Syracuse Crunch game is not an official Winterfest event, it is taking place during the Feb. 17 to 27 run, so why not tout it as much as a Syracuse University men’s basketball game or a play at Syracuse Stage?

It’s also important to add new attractions each year to keep the festivities fresh. This year’s novelty item is an ice castle. Central New York resident Joe Borasky began laying the foundation for the three-tiered castle in Clinton Square on Monday, Feb. 14. Much like the sand sculpture unfolding during the State Fair, construction will continue throughout Winterfest, and at night the ice castle will be lighted to full effect.

That’s how 10 days feature all sorts of activities for all ages (see schedule, page 20-21; a complete rundown is at www.syracusewinterfest.com). The idea is to take what nature gives us—snow or no snow—and turn it into a reason to get out of the house and enjoy the season. The New Times spoke with Cooper and Goehner about Winterfest and how they keep the ideas fresh and original. (Unless designated as Goehner speaking, all responses are Cooper’s.)

Q: How many years has Winterfest been going on? A:

It started in 1985 with two guys coming up with an idea. The Updowntowners produced it. In 1987, another group called Syracuse Winterfest Inc., took it over. I am still affiliated with both. In 1999, what was left of the Winterfest committee approached me and asked if I would head it. “It’s all planned out,” they said, “we need you to take it over, to run it.” So I coerced Ann into being the secretary.

(Goehner) And all this time I thought all I was doing is taking notes.

Q: What do you mean by “what was left of the committee”? A:

The committee at that time was only three or four people. It kept diminishing each year. The Chamber of Commerce backed out of its involvement; the city still helps out.

(Goehner) Onondaga County backed out.

In 1999 it had gone down to a total of five days of events.

We’ve seen our way through. We’ve had to be creative in our fundraising, selling tickets to some events to underwrite the costs, and we were able to expand to two weekends. And now it’s 2011 and the event is a lot of work, with just myself and Ann with assistance from the Syracuse Department of Parks and Recreation.

(Goehner) And we’ve been successful in getting other groups to produce events to tie into Winterfest. The Updowntowners have all along been doing the chili and chowder cookoffs. The Wing Walk has now become one of the signature events.

Then we’ve had the assistance of other groups that do things during the Winterfest time period that we are able to incorporate under the Winterfest banner. We try to highlight the variety of activities that could be done during that 11-day period. There is no reason to be bored while the kids are out of school because there are things to do. And I try to add events every year, like the Wing Walk.

Then we thought about creating the Culinary Cruise, which allowed people to go in and out of restaurants and judge the food, and then the various mixoffs (martini, margarita, cosmopolitan and the like). This year Ann came up with the idea of doing a Sandwich Stroll. The restaurants seem to like to host these events. Anything that’s added in helps the whole environment of Winterfest because it brings more events for folks to get involved in.

Q: Does the Downtown Committee’s Dining Week bother you? Do you feel like it’s stealing your thunder, or do you feel that the more, the merrier? A:

(Goehner) The point of having the Dining Week during this time of year is because it’s a slow time for the restaurants. It’s the same purpose of what we’re doing with our culinary activities. Us creating the two food events, bringing people into the bars and restaurants—they always comment that they have had very little business in February until Winterfest kicks in.

(Cooper) Other than a basketball game, the bars themselves don’t benefit from Dining Week. The Winterfest events bring new customers they might never have had. They love the exposure they get. The events bring a captive audience in; people are seeing the venue.

Q: Some years past, there were some Winterfests where there was absolutely no snow. I don’t believe that will be a problem this year, but do you think that had something to do with past disappointing attendance numbers? A:

Well, if you’re building everything around ice and snow, then you’re going to have a problem. But we have tried to make the Winterfest snowproof. We have done the human sled dog race on wheels in some years.

Ice carving? Some winters they have lasted only a day or two. That’s why we introduced wood carving. We do like the warmer weather because more people come out.

Q: Does it tick you off when you see the monthlong Cold Rush that Rochester puts on and that gets advertised here? A:

I’ve been asked this before. See, the Chamber of Commerce out there supports it, they have private money funding it. We’re a private, not-for-profit corporation. The city of Syracuse doesn’t produce Syracuse Winterfest, nor does the county, nor the chamber. I am always applying for grants, and that money is slim. Cold Rush is an economic development tool for Rochester. We’ve done a lot of things to promote our Winterfest—the AAA magazine, we’ve had national exposure for our snow angel contest. The web and Facebook are becoming major avenues for us for getting the word out.

(Goehner) It did bother us, at first. We were jealous, basically. But the more we looked at the content of the program, it was mostly advertisements generated for profit by whoever prints it.

Most of it was promoting various things that are happening in the Rochester area anyway. There is no central organizing committee; a lot of it is different suburbs doing their own winterfests packaged as a Rochester event.

Q: Did the Chamber of Commerce ever explain why they were no longer going to support the Syracuse Winterfest? A:

No, they never did.

(Goehner) We did have support from the Downtown Committee but that’s changed too. We think that’s partly because they have partnered with the Chamber. It may have happened anyway whether they had merged or not.

Q: Why is it so important for you to keep Winterfest alive? A:

We look at the advancement it makes to the community, the benefit to keeping Syracuse a vibrant community. And Winterfest does that. It would be bad to drop it, and not have that vibrancy continue. It gets a little overwhelming sometimes, yes. There are times we think we think we don’t want to do this, but at the same time we don’t see anybody on the horizon picking up the reins. If it did disappear, then what happens to all the work we’ve done over the years to build it up?

When you stop doing something, it falls by the wayside and then you struggle to get it back.

Q: How much longer do you think you can do this?

A:

(Laughs) Well, I know it would be impossible to do without Ann’s support.

Q: Ann? A:

(Goehner) I don’t know. I’m currently unemployed, but I do need to have some steady income. Ideally it would be part-time work, but it’s going to be a matter of what that job ends up being.

(Cooper) I’m partially laid-off. I work two days a week at the Fairgrounds, handling all the communications, the sound systems. I’ll be going back to 40 hours a week as of April 1, and it makes a difference to being able to volunteer now.

Q: How do you keep Winterfest fresh? A:

Well, the ice castle is a new idea this year. Sometimes people approach us, and we look at their idea to see what we can do. The Eastwood community is doing free skating and a party at Sunnycrest Rink. The kids’ festival this year is changing to a different venue: It will be at Paradise Market, and so will live entertainment.

Q: Tell me about those bear costumes. A:

We have a woman who has been doing it for a long time. Sue Avisa and her girls. They’ve grown up with the costumes and know how to work them. They’re back and willing to do it again this year. Sue even ice skates in costume. There’s HONY {Heart of New York}, Huggy, and then the baby bear. We had a name-the-bear contest and Snowball was the winner.

Read all about

Where do you work? SyracuSe Jazz FeSt, North americaN DiviSioN.

Nature of the business? PreSeNtiNg WorlD claSS muSical artiStS.

What do you do there? commuNity orgaNizer, artS activiSt & cultural Warrior. 38 yearS aND couNtiNg

How long have you been a reader of The Syracuse New Times? 40 yearS, SiNce 1971 (aND actually SiNce you StarteD out aS the oraNge PeNNySaver).

Where do you pick up your New Times every week? the B’ville DiNer.

What is your favorite part of The New Times? Joe gliSSoN’S BrilliaNt eDitorial cartooNS.

What changes would you like to see to the paper? No chaNgeS, JuSt a requeSt For more great Film revieWS By Bill DelaPP, more aWeSome muSic FeatureS From Jt hall, aND more PhotoS From the iNcreDiBle leNS oF mike DaviS.

What businesses or events have you patronized that are listed in The New Times? SouND garDeN, ShiFty’S, Palace theatre aND DiNoSaur Bar-B-que. eveNt-WiSe, occ’S legeNDS oF Jazz SerieS.

What civic organizations are you passionate about, and why are they important to you?

DuNBar ceNter, aND mealS oN WheelS oF SyracuSe, BecauSe Both ageNcieS are SaviNg liveS, aND cariNg For the ForgotteN chilDreN aND SeNiorS iN our commuNity. aS a commuNity orgaNizer aND Former Social Worker, aND aS SomeoNe Who iS iNcreDiBly coNcerNeD aBout the ramPart youth guN aND gaNg violeNce curreNtly aFFectiNg our BeloveD city aND commuNity, i’D have to Say DuNBar ceNter, the oNoNDaga couNty DePartmeNt oN agiNg aND youth, aND mealS oN WheelS oF SyracuSe. more thaN ever, that We SuPPort theSe ageNcieS that ProviDe care aND Service to thoSe uNaBle to care For themSelveS.