The Ringling rings in the winter season

Just as in days of old, when ancient civilizations held festivals and revelries to mark certain changes in the seasons, the Ringling is celebrating the beginning of the winter season this Saturday.

The “Greet the Light" event, 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20, is an outdoor extravaganza of live entertainment, food and drink in the heart of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art statue courtyard. An annual tradition running for its third nonconsecutive year, “Greet the Light” is the Ringling’s answer to the seasonal woes of light deprivation caused by the winter solstice on Dec. 21. It is the shortest day of the year and also the official start of winter.

“Though we’ve tied ‘Greet the Light’ to other art galleries in the past, we really wanted to just celebrate the winter solstice,” says Christopher Troksa, public relations manager for The Ringling. “We wanted to brighten things up during a time when everything is getting darker.”

The ever-creeping distance between the Earth and the Sun isn’t the only light that will be celebrated on Saturday night. International artist James Turrell’s “Joseph’s Coat Skyspace” will be celebrating its third year as installation in the museum. Employing a sophisticated network of LED lights, “Joseph’s Coat Skypace” adapts, responds to and changes the color of space in the sky and of the space around visitors. “Joseph’s Coat Skypace” will be running throughout the event.

In addition to the public art of “Skyspace,” local disc jockey DJ Imminent will be providing a cool lounge atmosphere. And regional hula-hoop performance group the Hoola Monsters will perform with fire and LED hula-hoop stunts and routines. While all this art, music and performances are occurring, guests can indulge in seasonal and warm food such as gumbo, peach cobbler and spiced nuts as well as drink the specialty beverage of the evening: a red apple ginger martini.

“‘Greet the Light’ is an anti-holiday party,” says Troksa. “It’s a place where people can escape from the stresses of the traditional holiday season. Just come and have fun. You don’t have to worry about wearing an ugly sweater.” In the words of the great philosopher Seinfeld, it’s “a Festivus for the rest of us.”

Tickets to “Greet the Light” cost $15 or $10 for members. With approximately 1,100 guests in attendance last year, the Ringling advises those attending to purchase their tickets prior to the event online or at the Ringling’s box office to avoid a long line at the entrance.