Last February, my destination was Winnipeg, where the frozen rivers downtown were alive with ice skaters. The winter before, I poked around Edmonton without exposing my cheeks to the brutal winds, thanks to a maze of heated tunnels that connect the buildings there. A month before then, I was dancing to techno beats with parka-clad Montrealers as snow fell at an event called Igloofest. Initially, these trips were simply a wallet-friendly alternative to the tropics. Then I learned — just like our northern neighbors — to embrace the season.
And with each return to Boston, I became more conscious of our lack of winter spirit. If you’ve ever wandered around Copley Square or Atlantic Avenue on a Thursday evening in January, you know what I’m talking about. Large open spaces are left vacant. Encountering a large group of people out on the town feels like a rare wildlife sighting. But winter doesn’t have to be an exercise in misery. To be fair, some efforts have been made to bring more winter cheer. The annual Snowport winter market in the Seaport and SoWa Winter Festival in the South End, for example, call to mind the labyrinthine holiday street markets that pop up in Vienna, Prague, and Dresden each winter. It’s not a perfect translation; the European markets don’t charge to get in, as SoWa does, and there are a lot more of them spread out across each city. But once an idea takes root, it can grow — for my money, the JP Holiday Market in the Spontaneous Celebrations arts space in Jamaica Plain leads the pack for importing Europe’s yuletide vibes to Boston.
But there’s much more that we can do.
Let’s start at the ground level and consider the streets. In winter, snow, sleet, and wind can disincentivize moving around the city. But illuminating more of our streets and parks with enchanting light fixtures can transform them into destinations. Tokyo has done a masterful job with creative installations that stay aglow after New Year’s Day. The Shibuya Blue Cave lights immerse visitors in sapphire haze, while the illuminations on Nakadori Avenue bring the party downtown.
