# data[].attributes.body
COVID brought to us so much great infrastructure to keep us dining outdoors even in the coldest temps with the introduction of "igloos" and other similar temporary structures such as greenhouse styled pods. With COVID behind us this exciting development disappeared, but WHY? Make sure your local patio permits allow for year-round dining, and if not, advocate to have those permits updated, and bring the dining pods back!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Grim Return of Outdoor Winter Dining

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Dinner by propane light is back—for now.

# data[].attributes.body
Jeanne-Claude and Christo's GATES installation in NYC Central Park back in 2005 is of course on a scale out of budget for all of us, but it's an awesome example of what COLOR can contribute to a winter landscape. Nothing like bright orange to get people walking and smiling!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Remembering NYC’s Coolest Art Exhibits: Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s Gates – ROOSTERGNN

# data[].attributes.headline
Light Festival: Brooklyn Botanical Art Center

# data[].attributes.subject
Light Festival: Brooklyn Botanical Art Center

# data[].attributes.body
There's great example of winter light shows across the US and around the world, including an annual light show event at Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence. This image from the Brooklyn Botanical Art Center light festival though really captures the magic that lighting can make possible.

# data[].attributes.body
Just throwing this in there to blow open our minds as to what's possible when it comes to winter lighting. This comes to us from the LuminoCity event in Eisenhower Park, NYC.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Where to Be Dazzled By Holiday Light Shows All Over New York | MTA ...

# data[].attributes.body
We stumbled across this eye-popping example of lighting activating a Main Street in Michigan, and had to share.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
7 Michigan Light Displays that Will Leave a Twinkle in Your Eye ...

# data[].attributes.body
No need to look far for inspiring lighting designs when we have the Downtown Providence Parks Network bringing us the annual LUMINA festival. This wildly popular February festival gets people out and about and SMILING at the coldest, crummiest time of year.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Lumina Winter Festival | Downtown Providence Park Network

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Experience the magic of Lumina, Providence’s premier winter light festival! From February 1-February 19, 2025, enjoy art installations and live performances.

# data[].attributes.body
Lighting can come in many forms, and one of our favorites is through Projection Mapping, which can be a great tool to bring Main Street buildings to life. Here's an example brought to us from Montreal we especially liked, but there are countless to choose from. And with some of the nation's best artistic famously talent coming from RI, it wouldn't be hard to find an artist to do something awe inspiring to move along your business corridor.

This particular artist, VJ Suave, is from Brazil.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
MAPP_MTL, Montreal’s 1st video-mapping festival, draws artists from around world | CBC News

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Montreal is becoming a hub for video mapping, an art form that uses video projection to reinvent spaces. Festival-goers can experience it first hand, creating their own 60-second projection on a human body or joining a cycle tour with a duo from Brazil.

# data[].attributes.headline
Keep Patrons Comfortable with Core Offerings 

# data[].attributes.subject
Keep Patrons Comfortable with Core Offerings 

# data[].attributes.body
People will lounge outside in cold temperatures when their basic needs are met. Create comfortable spaces that invite people in. Just offering seating (ideally in the sun and sheltered from the wind), heating (think HEAT LAMPS) and BLANKETS can go a long way.

# data[].attributes.headline
Design Public Spaces to Adapt Between Seasons

# data[].attributes.subject
Design Public Spaces to Adapt Between Seasons

# data[].attributes.body
Should you have the opportunity to design a new public meeting space, design it with the appropriate infrastructure to allow it to change as the seasons change. The classic is a grassy field for picnics and watching outdoor films in the summer that transforms into an ice rink in the winter. Though, all of this winter activity happening at the Harvard Plaza might inspire some new ideas. It takes on a different form in the summer months.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
interboro | HARVARD PLAZA WINTER FEST 2017

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It was a beautiful day today out on the Harvard Science Center Plaza!

# data[].attributes.headline
Check out these Warming Huts in Edmonton!

# data[].attributes.subject
Check out these Warming Huts in Edmonton!

# data[].attributes.body
Imagine this other worldly hut plopped down in the midst of your Main Street! This permanent natural gas fed fireplace, featuring a fixed decorative grill., and others like it can be found in Edmonton, CA. It doesn't require staff during the day, instead it just gets turned on in the morning and off at night. These are the work of artist Danielle Soneff.

YEG Valley Domes | Winter City Edmonton

# data[].attributes.headline
Cheap Way to Make a Big Difference? Shovel the Sidewalks!

# data[].attributes.subject
Cheap Way to Make a Big Difference? Shovel the Sidewalks!

# data[].attributes.body
This is basic. I wouldn't want to walk down this sidewalk, would you? Increasing basic maintenance of your streets, including completely clearing your sidewalks of snow is perhaps the most important thing we can all do to increase winter foot traffic.

# data[].attributes.body
Just dropping this image here of a giant chessboard of ice pieces in London's Trafalgar Square for the game between Russian and British chess prodigies as part of a Russian Winter Festival.

Chess Beneath The Lion | The giant chessboard of ice pieces … | Flickr

# data[].attributes.body
We can dream, can't we?

Perhaps this particular example is a bit over the top for Rhode Island, but why not think big, and then consider something more to the scale of your Main Street. The Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Heilongjiang, North-Eastern China was (as of 2019 at least) the largest ice festival in the world. Who knows, maybe someone beat that record by now.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The world's largest ice festival has opened to the public in China. The Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Heilongjiang, North-Eastern China draws 18 million visitors, marveling at the festival's spectacular castles and sculptures. In total, the 2019 edition saw 120,000 cubic meters of ice and 111,000 cubic meters of snow crafted by thousands of artists in temperatures as low as -35C (-31F) using swing saws, chisels, and ice picks.

Having begun as an annual tradition in 1985, the festival has gained accolades such as the Guinness Record for the world's largest snow sculpture (250 meters long and 8.5 meters high). The 2019 festival sees more than 100 landmarks, and ice sculptures by artists from 12 countries.

The Harbin Festival will be open for one month, closing on February 5th. Below, we have rounded up our favorite images of the festival so far, demonstrating that red hot architecture can be cold as ice.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
World's Largest Ice Sculpture Festival Opens in China with Chillingly-Cool Architecture

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The world's largest ice festival has opened to the public in China. The Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Heilongjiang, North-Eastern China draws 18 million visitors, marveling at the festival's spectacular castles and sculptures.

# data[].attributes.body
Love this temporary display of lit up water towers in NYC's Madison Square Park by artist Ivan Navarro. It's simple, engaging and brings people together outdoors. Read more about the project here:

https://www.artsy.net/show/madison-square-park-ivan-navarro-this-land-is-your-land-1?sort=partner_show_position

# data[].attributes.body
It's hard to believe but when the people of Chickasha, OK put up this giant 40ft., inflatable light up leg lamp one winter, it was the beginning of the total rejuvenating transformation of their downtown and Main Street area. It brought in national and even international attention to the city. In its first year its presence increased downtown foot traffic by 27%. Needless to say, there's a new permanent fiberglass version of the same size in its place. You might recognize the smaller version of the leg lamp, it was designed by Chickasha native Nolan James.

What's your crazy idea? Might be just what your street, and our state, needs!

Read all about it:

The Chickasha Leg Lamp Story | Visit Chickasha

# data[].attributes.headline
BUILD AN ALL-INCLUSIVE BRAND PLATFORM FOR SEASONAL PROGRAMS

# data[].attributes.subject
BUILD AN ALL-INCLUSIVE BRAND PLATFORM FOR SEASONAL PROGRAMS

# data[].attributes.body
Various holiday things are happening in your cities and towns, and around the corner from your Main Streets, all the time but aren't necessarily marketed in one package. Collect all of the micro experiences into one bigger brand, to make them bigger than the sum of their parts. Creating a flyer and / or putting together marketing of offerings together tells a story that gets more attention.  You don't necessarily need to build anything new for now, just work with what you already have!