(via Central Park's Twitter)
We have just received word that the Park Department's 2016 Winter Jam, scheduled to take place this Saturday, January 23rd in Central Park, has been canceled. Let's think about the reasons a "Winter Jam" would be canceled. Below, pick one reason for canceling an event based around sledding, snowshoeing, kicksledding, and skiing:
a) Too warm!
b) Rain
c) Snow
d) The word "jam" is annoying.
Those who did not read our headline may be shocked to learn that the correct answer is C! A snowy Winter Jam sounds like... the whole point of hosting a Winter Jam, and yet, here we are, staring at the face of unreason. Here's the announcement we just received from the Parks Department.
"Due to an active blizzard watch and a citywide hazardous travel advisory notice, Winter Jam 2016 is cancelled. The event will not be rescheduled."
Was anyone actually going to drive to Central Park for Winter Jam? Because the subways will be running, and the kids will want to go sledding, and we had big dreams of kicksledding, and we can get around this city even if it's covered in a foot of snow... This isn't D.C., where a little dusting shuts down the city.
We wanted to know more, so we asked the Parks Department, "How much snow is too much snow for a Winter Jam?" NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchel Silver did not answer that question, but we were passed along his statement in reply: "We are disappointed to have to announce, that out of an abundance of caution and concern for the safety of New Yorkers as we prepare for the expected blizzard, that we have canceled Winter Jam 2016."
In preparation, the Parks Department had been busy making snow in the area since Tuesday (last year they continued to make snow through a blizzard), so, head over to the Central Park Bandshell for a pre-blizzard snowball fight.
