HELENA — The Memorial Park Warming House and Ice Rink was originally slated to open Thursday Dec. 19, but they’re now looking at a Monday Dec. 23 Grand Opening due to warm weather.
Employees have been working the past couple weeks sharpening skates, stocking concessions and getting the warming hut ready.
“This year we added Christmas lights around the whole skating rink so when it gets dark it should be fun to skate,” said Aquatics and Recreation Program Manager Kait Perrodin.
The rink is on a dirt lot and the City has to wait for the ground to freeze before they can even begin to put water down.
Perrodin said the pleasantly sunny December weather this year has been great for a lot of other recreation, but not ideal for quality skating.
“If it’s slushy or soft you could potentially fall through or get stuck in some cracks, so we want to make sure it’s nice and hard and cold before people go out there and skate around,” said Perrodin.
Cost of admission at the rink is $1.00 for kids and $1.50 for adults.
All of the skates and equipment for the Memorial Park Warming House and Ice Rink were donated. Perrodin encourages people to consider donating their old gear to the rink.
The rink will have extended hours over the winter break, and more information can be found here.
