Atwater’s first outdoor ice rink is about to kick off the holiday season. Here’s a peek
Downtown Atwater will look a bit more festive this holiday season with the addition of a new outdoor ice rink at the corner of Fourth Street and Cedar Avenue.
The rink is a first for Atwater, and Mayor Paul Creighton said the community is buzzing about about its Nov. 1 opening day.
“It’s going to be so nice,” Creighton said. “It will make (Atwater have) more like a small town feel again, kind of like a Hallmark movie.”
Construction of the rink, which is being built with real ice, has been underway in recent weeks.
The ice rink’s inception was spurred by Old Town Atwater, a downtown-based organization that pushes for positive change through restoration and projects within the heart of Atwater. In the works since January, organization officials say the nearly completed project represents Old Town Atwater’s mission of restoring downtown.
“We’ve had people driving by (with their) thumbs up, people walking by and checking it out, people wanting to actually come in the site and see what’s going on,” said Brad Kessler, president of Old Town Atwater.
The organization’s plan to create something positive for the community this holiday season was bolstered by local support and funding, Kessler said. The Old Town Atwater Skate Center is community-funded in its entirety, with Razzari Auto Centers as the main sponsor.
Help from the community allowed Old Town Atwater to provide the city’s local students with the opportunity to skate for free. Old Town Atwater handed out free ice skating tickets to over 7,600 local kindergarten through middle school kids — about a $114,000 value, Kessler told the Sun-Star.
These Atwater students will get first rights to the ice on the morning of Nov. 1, Kessler said, before the rink opens to the rest of the public that afternoon.
“It’s been quite an undertaking but we’ve gotten a lot of community support, and businesses and individuals have come through and really helped us make this happen,” Kessler said.
Once the rink opens, ice skaters can also enjoy food, hot chocolate and “all the accoutrements of a little Norman Rockwell” town, including a possible visit from Santa Claus during Christmas time, Creighton said.
“I think Atwater has needed something like this for a long time,” Kessler said.
The rink will be open through Jan. 16. General admission is $15, including the price of renting skates. Discounts are available for members of the military and first responders plus their families.
This story was originally published October 28, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
