The Magical 'Zima!' Returns to LongHouse Reserve

Winter officially arrives on the East End next week, and let’s be honest, there are those among us who detest everything about what this seasonal change portends — the leafless trees, the dark nights, the bitter cold winds — all of which are the hallmarks of what lies ahead.

Then there’s Kate Mueth.

“I love winter,” Mueth admitted freely in a recent phone interview. “When we begin griping about the weather, we’ve given up on the point of living.

“For me, it’s just a way to play outside.”

And Mueth is, indeed, playing outside a lot these days. As the founder of The Neo-Political Cowgirls, an East End-based dance and theater company, she and her merry band of performers are presenting this year’s installment of the magical and mystical scavenger hunt “Zima!” throughout the expansive outdoor spaces of LongHouse Reserve in East Hampton.

“We’re grateful for LongHouse to be having us,” said Mueth. “It’s a wonderful, magical thing… and who doesn’t need that right now?”

For this year’s version of “Zima!,” Mueth and her team have developed a series of nine different vignettes scattered throughout the LongHouse grounds that offer an allegorical tale of sorts. Visitors take a journey that lasts about a half hour or so, depending on their pace, as they wander among paths lit by holiday lights where they encounter actors performing the vignettes. Each scene offers a “clue” that is used to solve a word riddle based on what they are witnessing.

The concept for “Zima!” (which is the Polish word for “winter”) was first born more than a decade ago when Mueth decided she wanted to develop an experience that encouraged people to get out and embrace the magic of the season.

“Winter is a dark dream and a time when we’re supposed to go into our own thinking, wondering and listening to long stories and pondering things,” Mueth said. “Without cold and darkness, the light of spring and life wouldn’t feel so special. It’s the cycle of being alive.”

Over the years, “Zima!” has been offered in a variety of locations, including downtown Montauk and on Sag Harbor’s Main Street during HarborFrost weekend, where participants encountered actors at various storefronts to collect their next clue.

“The first time I did ‘Zima!’ it was on the path of Pussy’s Pond [in Springs],” she explained. “The whole thing is about being in the season and enjoying Mother Nature. For me, it always feels best around trees, hills and topography, in quietness and stillness where it’s not too busy. It’s fun on Main Street and great to work with local businesses in that way and get traffic into their stores. But in pureness, ‘Zima!’ is best in the woods and wild.”

This is the second year Mueth and company are presenting “Zima!” at LongHouse Reserve and the property encompasses all that she could possibly wish for in a location. With its 16-acres of meandering paths, gorgeous gardens filled by unique plantings and a collection of sculptures by world-renowned artists, the mysterious message of the word puzzle takes on a somewhat different and deeper meaning when experienced there.

And exactly what that message is will largely be left up to the visitors. That’s because although we’re in the midst of the holiday season, with lots of festivities now to mark Christmas, Hanukkah and the approach of New Year’s Eve, “Zima!” is offered in a somewhat different vein in that it takes inspiration from less religious, more Nordic traditions of the winter season.

“Zima was born in a blizzard. The funny thing was, when I came up with this idea 16 years ago I was sharing it with [theatrical lighting director] Sebastian Paczynski and my actors saying that I wanted to have wild costumes and mythical creatures, maybe based in cultural history of the belief in winter gods and goddesses,” Mueth explained. “Sebastian said that when he was a kid, the Polish boy scouts did this kind of thing. They’d go out in the icy, snowy mountains and woods, track for days and days and they had to find this waterfall.”

There are no literal waterfalls in “Zima!” but there are ponds, bridges and beguiling sculptural pieces to encounter and explore along the way. Then there’s the winter riddle to solve — which is not a requirement for enjoying “Zima!,” but an added bonus for those who want to get more involved. Often, the riddle solvers, who are given a sheet to fill out as they begin their walk through the experience, will stick around to watch a vignette two or more times until they feel certain they’ve discerned the clue. The journey ends at the LongHouse Pavilion with a festive Holiday Artisan Market featuring handmade gifts by local artisans, warm drinks, sweets, holiday music and creative workshops.

“This past weekend, a lot of people were way into working on the riddle, while others were not — and that’s fine,” Mueth said. “It’s an old-school homemade riddle. It utilizes your sense of being quiet, watching and solving it, trying to fill in blanks and that part of your brain you don’t utilize anymore on a daily basis.

“You also become friends with others on the way. The riddle is to help deepen the involvement,” she added. “There’s a message, but not one we bang people on the head with. I think of it as an invitation. You ask, ‘Why is the woman on the hill singing “Greensleeves?” What am I seeing here about life?’

“LongHouse is such an inspiring place, whether because of the art or nature,” said Mueth, who this year has doubled the number of weekends “Zima!” will be offered. “Being able to use the sculptures and artistic beauty there is very inspiring. It’s our backdrop, if you will. It’s a lot of hours, people and work — Jason Amis, my main partner at LongHouse, is doing the work and making it happen with the lighting. But the truth of the matter is, very little has to happen beyond me inventing these characters and placing them. I don’t want to fuss, over-populate, over-disguise it or over-decorate it.

“The point of ‘Zima!’ is to get off the technology and out of our thoughts and into the beauty of winter in nature,” she added. “Stop bitching about the weather and cold. Bundle up. The beauty is there if you’re ready to enter into it.”

The Neo-Political Cowgirls “Zima!” is offered Friday and Saturday evenings through January 11 (no shows December 28 or 29) at LongHouse Reserve, 133 Hands Creek Road, East Hampton. Entry times are between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., with the last admittance at 6:30 p.m. sharp. The walk lasts approximately 30 minutes with stops at nine different vignettes, all of which are wheelchair accessible, and ends with the Holiday Artisan Market. All ages are welcome, but no dogs allowed. Admission is $45 (kids free) and funds benefit LongHouse Reserve’s capital campaign. Visit longhouse.org for tickets and information.