SHELBURNE FALLS — The village glimmered a little brighter on Saturday night.
The Art Garden held its 10th annual Winter Hoopla, bringing in hundreds of guests to see how volunteers transformed the railyard into a winter wonderland of lighted art displays, with everything from a ship being attacked by a kraken, to animated celebrations of love and a puppet show telling the tale of a little caterpillar on its journey to become a butterfly.
Attendees were guided into the railyard by a line of flickering candles in mason jars and the sounds of Kate Hennessey, known as “the keeper of the flame,” shouting “HooPla!” and welcoming people to the event.
“I’ve been the keeper of the flame since the very beginning of the HooPla, since the HooPla’s inception, and I’m the keeper of the flame because I’m willing to bring the wood,” she said. “It’s been so much fun. We started this originally because we needed something to do in the middle of February. We started this, and it’s been great to watch it get bigger and bigger over the years, and just the collaborative efforts of the whole community of artists. It’s just amazing.”
More than 50 artists contributed to the event by participating in community workshops, Art Garden work sessions and individual efforts at home, in what totals hundreds of hours of planning and artmaking. Laura Iveson, co-director of The Art Garden, said it took about two days to set up the event, with the majority of art going up on Saturday in the hours before visitors began to arrive.
She added that while it was a difficult decision to postpone the event, which had originally been scheduled for the weekend prior, having it on Feb. 28 meant warmer and sunnier weather for volunteers to set up and for attendees to peruse the show.
“I would not have wanted to be up on a ladder last weekend,” Iveson said jokingly.
Attendees could be heard oohing and aahing as they explored the railyard, taking in not only the variety of colors and light, but also the messaging. For example, the ramp leading up to The Art Garden’s studio space was filled with positive notes, and an animated video projected on one of the rail cars declared that love is stronger than hate.
“I think it’s an extraordinary amount of generosity,” Charlemont resident John Hoffman said of the hours that volunteers put into organizing the event. “It’s such an inspiration. It’s about hope.”
One of the displays outside in the railyard featured birds hung overhead with messages painted on the bottom, such as “resist,” “organize” and “keep loving.” Artist Reed Sparrow said the birds were part of the Winter HooPla display 10 years ago when Donald Trump was first elected as president, and Iveson and fellow Co-Director Jane Wegscheider invited Sparrow’s birds back for this year’s event.
“When Trump was first elected, I did a similar installation with these crows with sayings on them, and the folks at The Art Garden asked me back this year because of the nature of what’s happening in the world and our country right now, and needing to speak about it in an artful way,” Sparrow said.
In addition, the event brought back artists who have been contributing year after year. Valerie Caro said this was her third year volunteering with the Winter HooPla, but she has been involved with The Art Garden for many more years.
“It’s art and community, together and equally important,” Caro said of what has brought her back each year.
Caro oversaw the hot chocolate station, serving up approximately 7 pounds of cocoa to attendees before they went into the “Chrysalis Room,” a collaborative effort from Iveson, Phyllis Labanowski and Ann Cubberly. Dozens of volunteers made chrysalises, which were hung and lit inside the studio’s back storage room.
Caro said it was great to see so many people enjoy the event, and other volunteers echoed her sentiments, saying they’ve enjoyed seeing how it has grown over the past 10 years.
“Every year, the HooPla gets a little bigger and a little brighter,” Hennessey said.