Department of Energy and Environmental Protection No Child Left Inside®

DEEP is excited to be getting back to our "New Normal," consistent with the direction of Governor Lamont, and as a result of the rapidly improving COVID-19 situation in Connecticut. Starting no later than June 1, all customer facing services will resume normal business operations. For detailed information, for what this means at DEEP, and for the public we serve, visit our "New Normal" website: DEEP New Normal

Virtual Winter Festival 2021

Please note that there is no in-person Winter Festival this year at Burr Pond State Park.  The event will be Live-Streamed on the DEEP Facebook Page.
 

Saturday, February 6, 2021

between the hours of 9 am and 3 pm  

Live-Stream Event on DEEP's Facebook Page

 

Children and adults can spend time together indoors or outdoors at home or in their favorite park or forest by taking part in our "Virtual" Winter Festival. The events of the day will be live-streamed on the DEEP Facebook page.  Please join us for all or part of the event.  

DEEP’s annual FREE family Winter Festival provides fun for the entire family with many exciting and fun winter programs.

The agenda for the day is below:   

  • 9 am-Welcome/Overview of the Live-Stream Winter Festival Event with Kristen Bellantuono of NCLI, Justin Wiggins, Tom Bourret and Mike Beauchene from CARE and Meghan Bard from DEEP Communications

 

  • 9:15 am to 10 am-Ice Fishing with Connecticut Aquatic Resources Education (CARE).  CARE staff and volunteers will live-stream their ice fishing trip by discussing ice safety and getting on the ice; talk all about ice fishing where viewers can learn from life-long ice fishing experts everything from how to make a hole in the ice, to setting up a tip-up, to using a jigging rod and more; and lastly participants can ask questions through the comment section of the live-stream on the DEEP Facebook page and CARE experts will answer them LIVE

 

  • 10 am -Winter Hiking Basics with Mat Jobin of Reach Your Summit. Have you wanted to get out on the trail in the winter, but aren't sure where to begin? Join Reach Your Summit for a one of a kind fun, live-stream event for CT DEEP's 2021 Winter Festival that will help you get started. This live-stream event will breakdown the basics of winter hiking and backpacking in the New England region. Hear stories, learn tips and enjoy a show-n-tell of gear that can help make your winter experience better with, Reach Your Summit guide and owner, Mat Jobin's first-hand experience from guiding groups for over 12 years and tackling solo pursuits during the coldest of seasons

 

  • 11 am-Live Animal presentation -"Wildlife in Winter" with Carrie Szwed of White Memorial Conservation Center. Have you ever noticed that nature just seems quieter in winter? Besides the occasional chirp of a bird or rustle of a squirrel, you’re left to wonder, “Where did everybody go?” Come to this program presented by Education Director Carrie Szwed to find out! Whether it’s migration, hibernation, or remaining active, animals employ clever strategies to get through harsh winter conditions. Using natural props, games, and live animal ambassadors, we will learn all about CT’s wildlife in winter        

  

 

  • 12:45 pm-Animal Tracking in Winter with Lauren Prior of  the Environmental Learning Centers of CT.  Wild animals have a big story to tell – leaving behind clues that tell us what they are up to. In this webinar we will learn to read these nature stories by looking at footprint evidence left behind from common Connecticut Animals.  Participants will gain basic skills on how to correctly identify an animal track in the snow

 

  • 1:20-Catch up with CARE.  Join us as we wrap up the day and see how the fishing has been           

Additional information, activities and videos for families to enjoy during the Winter Season:

 

Fishing information and videos:

CARE videos on You Tube

Learn to Fish Student Materials

YOUth Fishing Passport –Your ticket to great fishing activities and giveaways in CT

Filet a fish

 

Wintertime foods:

Recipes for hot chocolate, snow ice cream, soups and stews

  

Fun things to do outside in the winter:

Winter activities to do in CT State Parks and Forests: winter hiking, explore a winter waterfall, snow shoeing, cross country skiing, downhill skiing, ice skating, snowmobiling

 

Winter Crafting:

ice suncatchers, snowman marshmallows, snow painting

 

Winter Science Activities:

14 Winter Themed Activities and Experiments For Any Climate

 

Recommendations for books about Winter that families can read together:

 1) The Winter Visitors by Karel Hayes You Tube Read Aloud

 2) Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner and Christopher Silas Neal, You Tube   

     Read Aloud

 3) Snow Day by Lester L. Laminack You, Tube Read Aloud

 4) The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats You Tube Read Aloud

 5) The Mitten by Jan Brett, You Tube Read Aloud

 6) Snowmen at Night by Carolyn Buehner, You Tube Read Aloud

 7) Snow by Cynthia Rylant, You Tube Read A loud

 8) The Wild Toboggann Ride by Suzan Reid & Eugenie Fernandes, You Tube Read Aloud

 9) Snowballs by Lois Ehler, You Tube Read Aloud

10) Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, You Tube Read Aloud

11) All Day so Gray by Marie Lamba, You Tube Read Aloud

12) No Two Alike by Keith Baker, You Tube Read Aloud

13) The First Day of Winter by Denise Fleming, You Tube Read Aloud

14) The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett, You Tube Read Aloud

15) Molly, by Golly by Dianne Ochiltree, you Tube Read Aloud

 

 

CARE instructors at the No Child Left Inside Winter Festival.

 

A heartfelt Thank You to the DEEP Fisheries Division and all of the CARE Staff and Volunteers for our 15th year of partnering on the Winter Festival Event. 

 

Thank You to all of our partners and presenters who will be taking part in this years "Virtual" Winter Festival being Live-Streamed on the DEEP Facebook page. 

 

For questions regarding the Winter Festival Event, please contact Kristen Bellantuono at:  Kristen.bellantuono@ct.gov. 

 

View photos from the 2015 Winter Festival

Content updated February 2021