Inaugural Winterfest comes to Freeport's Nautical Mile

Freeport’s youth theater organization, Sparkle on Stage, hosted its inaugural Winterfest on the Nautical Mile last Saturday, in collaboration with the Long Island Arts Council, promoting the wide range of wintertime events and activities.

Commemorating Sparkle on Stage’s first winter on the Mile, the event was intended to remind residents and alert visitors that there is plenty to do there in the winter as well as the summer. 

“Since this is Sparkle on Stage’s first year down on the Mile, we wanted to bring the Mile alive,” Sparkle on Stage founder Robyn Workman said. “We wanted to let the communities know that it’s not just a summer location, that there are events going on down here and that they could come and visit.”

Winterfest took over various buildings on the Nautical Mile to host an assortment of events and entertainment. The Long Island Arts Council hosted an artist’s market with numerous stands inside the SPLASH Education Center on 202 Woodcleft Ave. where visitors could learn about and purchase one-of-a-kind, unique artwork from Long Island artists.

Local artist Paul Rodriguez, who has been writing, illustrating, and publishing books about social emotional learning subjects, was one of the merchants at the event. Along with the eye-catching imagery of Rodriguez’s tales, subjects like positive self-esteem, anti-bullying, and recognizing autism are all conveyed within his stories. In addition, Rodriguez conducts educational initiatives through school programs based on the books he writes. 

“La Cancion Magica de Sona and Dora,” which translates to “The Magical Song of Sona and Dora,” is his most recent book, and it tells the tale of two tiny Puerto Rican tree frogs who discover how to follow their hearts. Rodriguez wrote the book to honor Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria struck in 2017 and to commemorate his late grandfather. The proceeds of the book’s sales are allocated to Puerto Rican relief efforts.

“I wrote the story about how they learn to sing their song because when it comes down to it, you have to listen to your heart and live your magic,” Rodriguez said.

The next stop on the Winterfest itinerary was the BrewSA Brewing Company parking lot on 180 Woodcleft Ave. where the Long Island Arts Council presented a live ice sculpting show with Guinness World Record holder Richard Daly.

“We are just promoting the arts by having the Guinness World Record holder for ice sculpting demonstrate his skills,” said the executive director of the Long Island Arts Council, Larry Dresner. “It’s also a fundraiser to raise funds to the arts council so we could provide services and programs the rest of the year and we just bring art to the village, especially during the wintertime when things seem to slow down a little bit.”

Daly transformed a solid block of ice into a sailboat in less than 30 minutes, adding detailed elements like windows to the base and emblazoning the word “Freeport” across its sail.

“I got into carving ice through culinary school when I went to Johnson Wales University about 25 years ago,” Daly said. “I kind of fell in love with it when I had to do one for a class and started competing as an amateur, turned professional, then became the world’s fastest ice carver.”

Daly was awarded the distinction of fastest ice carver in the world in 2013 by a Guinness World Records assessor after carving 60 sculptures out of 18,000 pounds of ice in two hours and 52 minutes. Daly went on to win ten gold medals at national competitions.

“These presentations usually last like a day or so depending on the weather,” Daly said. “It’ll probably last about 24 hours before it melts away into a puddle.”

The day concluded with a performance of Sparkle on Stage’s distinctive stage performance of “The Nutcracker. Not Just a Ballet.” 

As a community cultural arts hub, Sparkle on Stage presents a variety public performances and exhibits. Both casual and professional participants are able to use the space as an outlet for their creativity. 

Founded by Workman, a Freeport resident, she has searched for a permanent location for the organization for years. In May, they moved into their new home at 195 Woodcleft Ave., where they remodeled to add a rehearsal area and an indoor theater with dressing rooms.

The Nutcracker production was a reinterpretation of the traditional theatrical performance, featuring a variety of different musical styles and choreography.

“We actually tell the story with a very small cast using words,” Workman said. “We have different versions of the classic ballet songs, there was a little hip hop, a little disco in there. Because we have a smaller stage, we didn’t use regular backgrounds, we tied the story through costume changes.

“The kids did a lot of the choreography themselves, because most of them go dance school so they got to show their skills off.”

Workman anticipates Winterfest on the Nautical Mile will grow and as an annual event in the coming years.