By Diane Emeott
Erica Rubin brought her 3-month-old daughter, Violet, to see snow for the first time at the annual Winter Wonderland event at the Villages of Hillsboro Park on Thursday afternoon, Dec. 17. (Rubin was also handing out flyers for Brandon’s Run for Autism, a 5Kcharity walk/run coming up on Saturday, Jan. 9 at Quiet Waters Park).
Meanwhile, another snow enthusiast, Olivia, 4, was busy sliding down one of the two huge snow hills – one for ages 5 and under, and one for 6 and up.
“She’s a snow girl,” said her mom Aimee. “We come here every year and to Colorado!”
Twenty-five tons of “snow” was delivered by Florida Ice Manufacturing Corp., at a cost of $4,875 out of the Parks & Recreation Dept. budget for the event.
Eric Williams brought kids from the new Highlands Community Center and Oveta McKeithen Park (Westside Park) to play in the snow. (Highlands Community Center just had its ribbon cutting in March and has been open to the public since June, he added).
Families at Winter Wonderland could also participate in real horse-drawn sleigh rides, cookie decorating, games and photos with Santa.