Sharpen your skates as two local organizations plan to create ice rinks this season for your family and friends to enjoy.
The Huntsville/Lake of Bays Chamber of Commerce has been working on a skating rink at River Mill Park in Downtown Huntsville. They plan to open it to the public by Jan. 19.
“Construction is underway,” says Halley Clover, interim executive director. “It’s a 42 by 80-foot platform rink with dasher boards. We’re going to be hopefully flooding it in the next day or so, but hopefully Friday.”
Clover said staff would be on site every evening. The chamber plans to provide a bonfire from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. with weekend entertainment on and off the ice. She hopes people visit stores while resting off the ice.
“We would love to bring people downtown to support our local businesses, so we thought the location was great. It’s central, there’s a lot of great restaurants and coffee shops around here so it’s a great spot to have people come visit our town in this beautiful Muskoka winter.”
The chamber also plans to host the Huntsville Snowfest Festival on Feb. 24. It will be comprised of activities from musical performances, ice sculptures, hot chocolate, and will kick off at the rink with the launch of the Festival of Arts Snow Village.
“There’s going to be a lot of fun activities for kids down there and all ages really,” said Clover.
Meanwhile in Port Carling, the Lions Club has started work on their ice rink.
Volunteers started clearing the snow off the basketball courts at Hanna Park and flooding it to provide a smooth surface to dash back and forth on.
“We put the boards up last week and we have plastic down,” said Jeremy Fowler, a volunteer with the club. “We flooded the ice twice. I would say we’re behind the eight ball, but we’re going to put water in today and every day this week because the temperatures are good.”
They plan to announce when it will open at a later date. The club will also host a Winterfest from Feb. 3 to Feb. 5.
“Winterfest is coming along well,” said Fowler. “The full schedule of events is already posted online and passes are available for purchase.”
Officials say a passport for the weekend costs $5 while children 12 years old and under may enjoy the fun for free. Winterfest will feature breakfast, lunch and dinner meals followed by activities and a hockey game between the Muskoka Rock Coaches and Muskoka Lake Firefighters.