“If you build it, they will come.”
In October 2012, the Mud Hens announced that Fifth Third Field would host an outdoor Walleye game as part of a 10-day celebration called Winterfest. Hens and Walleye President and General Manager Joe Napoli said at the time the idea had been in the works for over three years, ProMedica would be the sponsor and that it would take place in late 2014.
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Five years of thinking, planning, dreaming — for just 10 days.
Winterfest was designed to showcase our Downtown jewel while celebrating and marketing our winters. Last year, Toledo was recognized by The Weather Channel as having the worst winter in the nation. I don’t need to remind you of the inches of snow or the bitter cold; if you were here it’s tattooed on your soul. I think it’s the snow and cold that give Toledoans a thicker skin than most.
Many of you might be asking, “Why would anyone celebrate the awful cold and horrible snow?” It’s hard to see the beauty in something that we have to shovel off our driveways.
Some people who walk this Earth never get to see, feel or taste a snowflake. They see it on TV, read about it, maybe see it in the backdrop of a movie, but never get to experience it.
As you are well aware, Northwest Ohio has four true seasons. We love our springs, summers and falls, but most of us carry on a love/hate relationship with our winters.
As Toledo tries to rebrand itself on a global scale, why wouldn’t we celebrate and embrace the one thing that makes us very different from other places in the world? Winterfest was and will continue to be a game changer for this community.
Of course, only in Toledo could we host a “Winterfest,” promote it for two years and then have Mother Nature miss the memo. How ironic. We have 80-plus inches of snow in January, and no water to drink in August. We throw a 10-day festival named after our cold weather and have eight days described as “unseasonably warm.”
It only snowed a few times during Winterfest; snow fell Jan. 4 during the Walleye game postponed from Jan. 3, as well as during the Battle of the Badges — a game played between the Toledo Police and Toledo Fire & Rescue departments. I am positive that Steve Machcinski and Jamie Dickman nudged somebody upstairs for that one.
The Walleye games were the big draws, but I decided to experience Winterfest differently. I wanted to see what it was like the other 95 percent of the time, when the Walleye weren’t on the ice.
I chose 2 p.m. on a Tuesday, and it was the perfect choice. Temperatures were in the 40s, with a strong, cold wind, no snow falling and none in the forecast. I brought local photographer and Instagram superstar Eric Shanteau with me. I wanted his eye to capture the true beauty of Winterfest.
The stadium was empty, the main gates wide open and the admission was free. As a father of four, I knew what was going on the moment I heard the first cowbell: travel hockey.
The ice rink that covered the Mud Hen’s infield featured a game between two teams of 9-year-olds. One squad was coached by former Toledo Storm player Gordy Hunt, the other came from Canada. There was music, a live video feed on the scoreboard, nervous fathers yelling instructions, hockey moms ringing bells and plenty of smiles. There were no mascots, no remote-controlled balloon dropping prizes — just an ice rink full of kids playing a game of hockey and having a moment they will never forget.
Winterfest not only showcased Toledo hockey and Fifth Third Field and brought tens of thousands of people to Downtown Toledo — in the winter — it also supplied something.
Winterfest created lifetime memories for every person who walked through the gates.
For 10 days straight, Joe Napoli and his incredible team gave thousands of people a once-in-a-lifetime experience right here in Toledo.
Decades from now, one of the boys I watched play hockey on that Tuesday afternoon will tell his grandkids about that game. His story will detail how blue the sky was, how cold the wind felt, how proud his parents were and, depending on what team he was on, the score. You don’t forget an experience like that, even if you weren’t victorious.
Five years of planning for a lifetime of memories seems like the perfect formula for Toledo’s future. O
Jeremy Baumhower can be reached at jeremytheproducer@icloud.com or on Twitter @jeremytheproduc.
