WinteRamble, a New Upper West Side Holiday Tradition: See It

The handlers of the puppets breathed life into them through the poles connected to the limbs, which they moved consistently throughout the procession to make it appear as if they were striding along.

Text and photos by Daniel Krieger

“Welcome to the annual WinteRamble!” a voice from a large crowd announced to loud cheers on Wednesday night at the kickoff of the third edition of this mobile festival that has become a neighborhood holiday tradition.

Organized by the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District (BID), the procession commenced on Broadway between 62nd and 63rd streets, next to the ghost of Lincoln Plaza Cinemas, before slowly meandering its way around the area, twisting and turning and lumbering along for one hour before returning to its year-long slumber.

The mood was jubilant as participants meandered along with the procession, many of them carrying their newly made mini lanterns or the larger crystalline lanterns hung on a bamboo stick.

The procession was led by seven 14-foot-tall illuminated frost giant puppets provided by the Processional Arts Workshop. Its members also led a workshop prior to the event across the street at TD Bank, where 100 participants made their own mini lanterns to accompany the frost giants on the walk, which is one of the highlights of Lincoln Square BID’s Magical Lights holiday programming.

One of the frost giant puppets making its way past Trump International Hotel.

The procession set off amid the threat of imminent rain as well as the good fortune of mild temperatures. Heightening the strangeness and novelty of this spectacle was the sound of kalimbascopes [a western interpretation of African thumb pianos], which provided the soundtrack. As usual, passersby asked some variation of, “What is this?” And along the route, many stopped to take out their phones to document this dreamlike spectacle that was inexplicably in front of them.

Lumbering along like a massive organism that had to navigate obstacles and turns, the procession took up more than a city block.

Before the walk, Monica Blum, president of the Lincoln Square BID, estimated that if it didn’t rain, there could be at least 200 participants. But even if it did rain, she said, they would forge ahead, and since the frost giants are waterproof, they would be unaffected.

“The idea here is building a sense of community,” she said. “This is a large residential neighborhood, and I’d like to have people look out their window and see us walking by and come down and join us.”

Soaring above the crowd against the twilight sky, the frost giant puppets were a truly stunning spectacle.

Before the kickoff, you could see what a community event it was as a growing crowd of locals boisterously socialized while the frost giants practiced their moves as they geared up for the walk. Meanwhile, Ralph Memoli, one of the organizers, was handing out large crystalline lanterns mounted on a bamboo stick that were made by the Processional Arts Workshop.

The Processional Arts Workshop ran a craft-making workshop before the procession for locals to make mini lanterns that they could carry along with the procession.

Many parents with kids were present, such as Alicia, who had brought her three-year-old son and a friend. They had just come from the workshop and her child was sitting in his stroller, mini lantern in hand, ready to go.

“It’s a great way for kids to make arts and crafts and see how wonderful New York is,” she said of the workshop and the event itself. “My son is having fun, and it gets him out of the house.”