Community Corner
Ice Rink Going Up... With a Tent
The seventh annual Walnut Creek on Ice festivities in Civic Park are two weeks away.
This winter marks the beginning of season #7 for Walnut Creek on Ice, a temporary ice rink that will be open to the public in for three months.
The rink will be officially launched on Saturday, Nov. 12, at the Children’s Winter Festival, an event featuring ice sculpting, music by the Walnut Creek Intermediate Glee Club and raffle prizes. It will be open to the public until Jan. 16.
The ice rink has been an annual winter feature at Civic Park since 2005. It was located in the middle of the park for four years but was moved slightly closer to Civic Drive in 2009.
“It’s the third year at this location. We used to put it where the is, but when they built the library we decided to place it where it is now,” said construction manager Don Murphy.
The ice rink is 8,000 square feet. Half of the rink is shaded by a tent this year to make it usable under all winter weather conditions.
Special Ice, a company owned and operated by ex-professional hockey player Emery Lykins, is building the rink.
"Me and a few of my hockey friends got into building these when we got tired of playing hockey professionally," Lykins said.
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Lykins said the rink costs between $300,000 and $400,000 to build. The project takes eight to 10 weeks to complete.
Walnut Creek on Ice is presented by the Downtown Business Association and the Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce.
Tickets are $15 with skate rentals included and free for children under 3.
For more information visit the Downtown Walnut Creek on Ice website.
