Grace Farms to Hold Winter Outing

Grace Farms is open for winter recreation with snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and ice skating at the 80-acre center and a free community Winter Outing event is planned for Saturday, March 5.

“Grace Farms is a place to experience nature in all seasons, and we aim to offer accessible opportunities to explore the winter landscape and spend time with each other outdoors,” President of Grace Farms Foundation Sharon Prince said in a statement.

The Winter Outing is Grace Farms Foundation’s first winter community day. Visitors of all ages can participate in a variety of programs, including presentations by former Olympic athletes, 90-minute fresh-air nature and wildlife tours, and snow tubing. Venture out into the rolling grounds on snowshoes or enjoy vistas from a fireside spot in the River building. If the weather is cold enough, visitors are encouraged to bring skates for the ice rink and cross-country skis for the open field trails.

Olympic athletes, cross-country skier Leslie Krichko and figure-skater Brooklee Han will join World-Champion snowboarder Adam Petraska for a meet-and-greet with visitors and young athletes. Krichko will lead an 11 a.m. cross-country-trail tour, and Han will give a presentation in the Grace Farms Library on the athlete’s life and the pursuit of sustained excellence in sports.

Krichko, of Ridgefield, competed in the 1988 Olympics in Calgary. Han, a resident of Redding, is an Australian-American figure skater who represented Australia at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. Petraska won two World Championships and five National Championships in snowboarding. He is now assistant director of facilities at Grace Farms.

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Visitors will be able to learn the basics of snowshoeing, build snow sculptures, make ice-cream in Commons, or see The March of the Penguins. New Canaan’s School of Rock will perform in the Court, and lunch will be available for purchase in Commons until 3 p.m. A hot cocoa bar will be open all day.

During the outing, Grace Farms Foundation will collect lightly-used winter clothing and coats for a local shelter.

Admission is free. The activities schedule may be adjusted to suit weather conditions.

For detailed information and updates, visit grace farms.org/calendar.

Photo credit: Kelly McGarvey.