To celebrate its 125th anniversary and Curling Day in Canada, the Huntsville Curling Club (HCC) is holding an event with the launch of a Crokicurl rink at River Mill Park on January 31.
The festivities will run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the park, where community members can try out the new Crokicurl rink, interact with HCC members, and get a photo with the giant inflatable curling stone. The celebration will continue at the HCC from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., where a variety of activities will take place, including Canada’s Big Shootout, a national curling contest being held that day.
Crokicurl is a large-scale version of the board game Crokinole combined with the sport of curling. The octagonal natural ice rink will be 25 feet in diameter and complete with painted markings, wooden pegs, and plastic stones. Initially, the rink was only going to be available for the one-day event, but as community interest and enthusiasm grew, officials decided it would stay open for the entire winter season. The rink is a partnership between the Huntsville/Lake of Bays Chamber of Commerce, the Huntsville BIA, and the HCC.
During a Dec. 10 council meeting, Chamber Executive Director Halley Clover and Club President Ron Kreutzer appeared before Council to seek approval for the rink.
“We thought it would just add so much more excitement to downtown for as long as we could have it,” said Clover.
According to Kreutzer, the purpose of the event and the rink is to promote the game of curling and the HCC.
“We’re going to have some youth curlers out there just kind of showing what our youth curling program is,” he said. “We’re going to have an open house. We’re going to invite the public to try curling now for the first time. Everything will be free.”
The HCC says not only will it be a day of celebration but will also be a way to thank the community for supporting them over the past 125 years.
