Cincinnati's Washington Park will be transformed into a Nutcracker-inspired "Winter Wonderland" this December.
The installation includes holiday lights installed by 3CDC, a story walk created by students at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, and a kick-off event with Santa Claus and dancers from the Cincinnati Ballet.
"[Visitors] will be able to make six different stops along the story of 'The Nutcracker,' " said Cincinnati Ballet President and CEO Debbie Brant. "By scanning a code, they'll see video; they'll learn some of the dance steps. There will be pieces of our Nutcracker sets recreated in sculpture form by the students of the Art Academy of Cincinnati."
Brant says students will recreate set pieces out of duct tape, similar to their summer sculpture series in Washington Park.
RELATED: His murals once covered Cincinnati walls. Now there's one in his honor
This is the Cincinnati Ballet's 50th anniversary of performing "The Nutcracker" in Cincinnati.
"Fifty years — imagine that," said Interim Artistic Director Cervilio Amador. "We were all in 'The Nutcracker' as a kid, and then some of us have been in 'The Nutcracker' as professional dancers, and then now seeing my own kids coming to 'The Nutcracker' — it's that tradition year after year. So imagine how many families our 'Nutcracker' has influenced here in our community."
City Council voted 6-3 in October to approve $75,000 to help pay for the project. The money is from a General Fund reserve account that was recently replenished as part of the annual carryover budget.
"We just came out of a weekend with BLINK," Council member Anna Albi during Budget and Finance Committee said earlier. "I went down to Music Hall to watch, and to see that space activated and so many people out and about was just truly remarkable."
Council member Seth Walsh proposed the ordinance. He says the money is a one-time expenditure that will allow for Washington Park holiday activiation in future years as well.
Council member Mark Jeffreys voted against the measure, along with Scotty Johnson and Victoria Parks. Jeffreys said he loves the idea of the project, but objects to the source of the funding.
RELATED: City Council will have about $15M left over from the last budget to spend this year
"Just as a matter of principle, I think we should be pulling funds from the operating contingency for more emergency things that we need," Jeffreys said Monday. "We're going to have a lot of financial challenges in the next few years, and I think treating the operating contingency ... for truly things that we need to pull out is going to be really important."
If you go
The story walk with six scenes will be available in the park from Dec. 1-31 during park hours (7 a.m. to 10 p.m.). Lighting enhancements will remain in the park through February.
A launch event is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 2, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Family-friendly activities include ballet dancers and characters, music, and pictures with Santa Claus.
