• See a WinCAM Winchester Insider episode on the Riverwalk by Lauren Herrmann, on WinCAM's YouTube channel or at the bottom of this page. 

• See a video of the opening tour https://www.winchesterculturalcouncil.org/Riverwalk/opening .

• More on the Riverwalk as a part of the Waterfield Festival https://winchesterculturaldistrict.org/waterfield-festival.html .

If you have muted/ silenced or turned off the ringer and sound on your mobile device, enable the sound and adjust the volume so you can hear the audio parts of the displays on the tour.

1. There is no fee to enjoy Riverwalk.

2. A mobile device with internet access is necessary; ideally a newer device with better computing power will provide a smoother user experience.

3. The Hoverlay app available in the AppStore or GooglePlayStore.  We recommend that you install it before starting on the walk, with the WiFi service available at the starting point at the Jenks Center. Remember you will need your AppleID and password, or the equivalent for Android, to install the app.

4. You may wish to bring headphones for the audio portion of the AR.

Thirty to  40 minutes.   We will visit a few locations, between a quarter and half a mile, and guide you through the use of the app to explore Riverwalk.  The terrain is mostly flat.  After that you are free to visit the remaining AR and physical sculpture installations along the RiverWalk.  We will try to set up walks to visit different displays each time.

1. At 10:30 a.m., participants gather in the front patio of the Jenks Center.

2. Guides will help you install the Hoverlay app on your mobile device (remember you will need your AppStore AppleID and password, or the same for the Google Play Store).

3. A brief demonstration will be done while everyone is together.

4. A guide will lead the group to visit selected installations nearby:  a physical sculpture, an AR birdsong experience, and a virtual poet reciting his material for you.

5. Questions will be fielded at stops along the way.

6. After the last stop, you are free to return to the Jenks or continue to explore other RiverWalk exhibits.

Yes!  If you see a QR code on a display, scanning it should bring up the AR feature at that location.  If you have not yet installed the Hoverlay app on your mobile device, you will be prompted to do that first.  But start at any of the locations and take your time going from site to site. There is no required order to viewing the AR and physical sculptures on display for Riverwalk.

Of course !  Use the Winchester Cultural District contact form and let us know which group or organization, how many in your party, and some options for dates and times, and we will work something out to meet your preference. 

Every day, all day.  You are not required to join these sessions to experience Riverwalk, but you may gain some useful tips from people who have used it before.

Winchester Riverwalk needs volunteers at every level.  Before or after taking a tour, learn how to operate the app and join us to help others who are new.  Point out special features one-on-one and help visitors experience the AR fully.   Help with recording artists and seek out likely AR presentations to be added to the Winchester Riverwalk exhibits all over town.  Keep this website updated. 

Periodically help with a workshop to demonstrate how to create your own AR (see below).

Yes!  Sign up for a free account on Hoverlay.com and try it out for yourself.  The free level does not have all the features of a paid service, but does allow you to create your own AR and share it with your friends.  You can specify the access radius:  whether you have to be near a specific location, or be within the boundaries of the town of Winchester, or wider if you wish.   Some paid apps can capture 3d images of objects and those can be placed in a location where visitors can walk around the object and look down on it: an example is the Gardens for Good display where you can walk around various vegetable plantings. 

Photos and Videos of AR (and you!)

Once you have become comfortable with using the app, here are some features that might not be obvious at first glance:

1) You can take a "photo" of what the camera sees, along with the Augmented Reality using the white circle in the viewfinder in Hoverlay.  Take a selfie of yourself standing next to Terry Fuller, the Poet Laureate from Medford.

2) You can take a video of what the camera sees, along with the Augmented Reality -- just hold the white circle down, give the app permission to access your photos so it can save the video file there.  You can record yourself dancing next to Samuel Sjostedt playing the oud on the lawn behind the library.

3Dimensional Art

The Gardens for Good exhibit on the lawn of the Winchester Unitarian Society, near the driveway on Mystic Valley Parkway, has broccoli and other vegetables in 3D: you can walk around the plants and view them from all directions (walk around them), even look down from the top.  Just don't try to harvest them.