The Eastglen outdoor skating rink opened Dec. 21 just in time for the Christmas holidays.
“They were flooding in the cold weather and it worked out quite good,” said Town of Westlock mayor Ralph Leriger. “It’s ready to go.”
Officials explained that opening the rink was stymied by the recent deep freeze.
“It was just a matter of getting the final touches on it,” said director of community services Mike Butler.
“It’ll be thick enough. Temperature above zero only becomes an issue when it’s really thin, but right now I think we’ve got enough on it that it should be fine,” said Butler.
“In the earlier days when it was really cold it was almost too cold to make ice, but we managed to get it through and we’re looking forward to the Christmas holidays.”
Now that the rink is open, officials are asking people to take note of the public skating schedule.
“It’s open from 4 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. most nights, other than Fridays when it will be open at 9:45 p.m. Saturday and Sunday it will be open at 2 p.m.,” explained Travis Darling, community services program supervisor at the Rotary Spirit Centre, which manages the rink.
Hockey and ringette sticks are allowed on most days after 5 p.m., although on Tuesdays and Thursdays there is a strict public skate from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Public skaters are entitled to use half the rink if there are less than seven skaters, and the full rink if there are more than seven.
The rink will only close if the ice surface is compromised, there is no one using it for the day or if the temperature drops below -25C. A schedule is available on the Town of Westlock’s Facebook page.
