It’s Back and Better Than Ever: Walnut Creek On Ice
The buzz around Walnut Creek’s signature holiday event is red hot as the ice rink skates into its seventh and perhaps best season ever.
Things are heating up in downtown Walnut Creek, and that’s actually a good thing for the folks behind the annual Walnut Creek on Ice. The buzz around the holiday event is red hot as the rink skates into its seventh and perhaps best season beginning November 15.
There’s no Grinch here! In fact, the folks behind the ice rink are playing the role of Santa on opening day, welcoming skaters onto the ice free of charge from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Just days later, it’s time for the Children’s Winter Festival, happening November 19 from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., featuring face painters, ice sculpting, singers and much more.
The rink has long been a wintertime destination for locals of all ages, plus out-of-towners, too. The organizers are going for the gold this year, with upgrades and additions to this year’s rink - which promises to be better than ever before.
New and Improved
“We have a lot of new things happening this year,” enthused Kathy Hemmenway, Project Manager with the Walnut Creek Downtown Business Association, which brings Walnut Creek on Ice to the community with the Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Bureau.
“We have a new operator called Special Ice,” she explained, “and the biggest addition this year is a new outdoor tent that covers about two-thirds of the ice. So we have expanded the whole venue to be over 8,000 sq. ft. of space.”
“Special Ice is bringing a lot of new sound and lights to the venue as well, including a new disco ball,” continued Hemmenway. “Definitely, the lights and sound experience is going to be new and improved along with the tent space.”
Even the non-skating crowd gets to enjoy some revamped rink features.
“We now have decking around two-thirds of the perimeter, which is more than last year,” Hemmenway said. “That means a lot more space for people to gather and hang out. That’s part of the fun of coming out here, even if you don’t skate you can come out and watch your friends and family skate, have some hot chocolate and enjoy the winter atmosphere.”
Sure, hot chocolate is an ice rink staple, but what about the hordes of hungry skaters and spectators working up an appetite?
“Another new feature this year is we’ve just signed on McCovey’s Restaurant to be here throughout the whole season,” Hemmenway said. “They have a special menu that they’ve created for us, which will include pizza slices and sandwiches and salads, hot and cold options.”
“We’re really excited,” she described the partnership with McCovey’s.
Peet’s Coffee will be served rink-side, and the rink regulars will recall that there are vending machines with drinks and snacks for purchase, too.
Lace Up and Hit the Ice
These new additions could be summed up as the icing on a skating season that’s always a big hit, and with good reason.
“I think it’s pretty exciting,” Hemmenway offered just days before the start of the 2011-2012 skating season. “There’s definitely a buzz downtown of the holidays beginning. It’s even more exciting this year to watch the creation of this new venue in the same space, and to really watch how Special Ice has maximized the space and created an even better environment for skating and spectating.”
It’s a creation that locals get to watch first-hand.
“Traffic on Civic and Broadway definitely sees the process daily. It’s a month of buzz leading up to the opening.”
Come mid-November, people are itching to get on the ice.
“It’s a really nice opportunity to provide family fun and an outdoor holiday event which the community has embraced and really looks forward to each year,” suggested Hemmenway.
“To be able to skate in an outdoor environment is really cool,” she continued, “and yes we do have to brave the elements but the beauty of California is we can get into the beginning or middle of November, and traditionally, I’d say half of our openings, it’s been 80 or 90 degrees the first week we’re open.”
“Get a suntan while you do this great healthy outdoor activity,” she said with a smile.
It’s also a taste of childhood for East Coast transplants who have relocated to the area and are raising their own children without the backyard pond skating experience.
“Those parents who grew up skating their whole life on outdoor ponds, now they get the opportunity to come here and show their kids that they can skate, and teach them what to do, too,” Hemmenway suggested.
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In fact, all kids can learn to skate in downtown Walnut Creek.
“We have a skating school available also,” Hemmenway explained. “Saturday and Sunday mornings, we have between 8 and 10 coaches and about 80 kids who come through and learn to skate during 4 or 5 week sessions.”
You’re never too young – or old – to be skating, she reasoned.
“It really ranges from I would say 3 years old on up,” she described the crowd on the ice. “We do have a lot of little toddlers who get out there on their double-blade skates, where they just put their shoe right onto the skate and lace it on. It’s not as intimidating as the single blade skate and those little guys love to get out there with mom and dad.”
“Then of course we’ve got the pre-teens who come out and just eat up being with their family and friends. The teenagers love it because they can be dropped off, go on their own and skate. Families, of course, we have a lot of families coming during the holidays, making it this big holiday event and tradition, too.”
“We have a lot of faithful skaters in their 60s and 70s,” said Hemmenway. “A lot of times they come right when the rink opens, during that first hour when it tends to be quieter.”
Skate guards are strategically stationed around the rink to keep everybody safe.
“Experienced skaters and a lot of hockey players in their off season often work at the rink,” explained Hemmenway. “They help us manage the safety and the speed on the ice.”
Medically-trained personnel are always on hand, and a fire station is just across the street in the event of emergency.
The goal, she stressed, is a safe and fun experience for every skater – who, by the way, won’t pay anything extra this year.
“We’re really proud to say that one thing that’s stayed the same this year is our prices. $11 during non-peak times, Monday through Friday up until 5:00 p.m. Friday at 5:00 p.m. through Sunday, it’s $15. And those prices include skate rental.”
There are holiday peak times as well – Thanksgiving week and the two weeks during Christmas Break.
Walnut Creek on Ice has a over a10 week run planned, closing on January 16.
A gala event is planned for just prior to closing.
“The committee is planning for the evening of January 14,” she said. “We’re hoping to have it be a nice kind of semi-formal event with some skating performances and bring an elegant twist and dining experience to the ice.”
“A fun new community tradition that will help celebrate the season and serve as a big thank you to the sponsors and the community.”
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Party Time!
There’s no need to wait until January 14 to get the party started, because birthday party packages are available throughout the skating season.
“It’s a nice option for those winter birthday parties,” said Hemmenway. “You sign up online, you have a staff member assist throughout the party, you have reserved tables and new this year, we have two party tents so we’ve really expanded the birthday parties option.”
McCovey’s provides the food service for the party packages.
“It’s a really nice, inclusive offer for our guests,” she summed up the birthday party packages.
Private ice time is also an option for anybody who wants to throw a special event at the rink.
Keep an Eye on the Ice
There’s another high-tech element to the ice rink.
“There’s a web cam, it’s live and you can access it through our ice rink website,” explained Hemmenway. “A live stream of the ice rink will be up throughout the whole season.”
The web cam serves multiple purposes.
“We had one family, a woman came out to skate with her three young children and her mother, who lived on the East Coast, was able to click on the website and see her grandchildren live for the first time via the web cam,” Hemmenway recalled.
“It’s also nice to use if you are interested in coming down and you want to see how busy it is or what the weather’s like. You get that live-time feed,” she pointed out. “It’s fun to watch as the rink is being built and taken down, too.”
“It’s a good shot,” she continued, “and really pretty because you get Mt. Diablo in the background and you can pan to the left or the right. It’s a great overall view of the rink.”
Community Collaboration
The rink itself serves as something of a symbol of the community.
“Walnut Creek is more than just a city, it has a real community to it and I think people who live here care about the city and are involved in local events and the ice rink adds a lot to our city,” offered Angela De La Housaye, Co-Chair of Walnut Creek on Ice. She has long been involved in the Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce and currently serves on its Board of Directors.
“It’s a place where people can gather and have fun, families can enjoy the outdoors and be together,” she described the rink. “It’s such a great community builder.”
Why Walnut Creek?
“It’s nice to have a rink locally,” she pointed to the benefits of not having to drive 30 miles or more during the hustle and bustle of the holidays.
“I get it every year,” she described a contagious excitement about the rink. “Even more so this year because of the new features, the tent makes it feel like a fun and festive carnival. Even before it started getting cold, as the rink was going up I was getting excited.”
She theorized that the business community was equally excited.
“There are tangible benefits,” she said of the rink. “It has created some jobs, people are working down at the rink. Vendors at the rink are getting business. We’re bringing people downtown.”
“From the local businesses, we hear nothing but positive things,” echoed Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce President Jay Hoyer. “They like it. People are coming down to skate, they stay to eat dinner, they are shopping here, too.”
The intangible benefits – the sense of community, excitement, holiday togetherness – were just as important, De La Housaye and Hoyer both stressed.
“It has become a source of community pride, it really has,” said Hoyer. “It’s unique, it’s special, it’s family-oriented. It’s attractive and fun and special.”
Raymond James, Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau and Walnut Creek Downtown Business Association are proud to bring the community another year of Walnut Creek on Ice for all to enjoy this winter!
Civic Park, 1375 Civic Dr., Walnut Creek. Street parking is available on neighboring roads, as well as public garage parking. Free shuttle service is offered daily for rides around downtown Walnut Creek to and from the Walnut Creek BART station. Drop-off and pick-up zone is on Civic Dr. immediately in front of the rink.
The rink will be open daily through Jan. 22, 2012. Sunday – Thursday, 12:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 12:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. $11 (includes skate rental) during non-peak hours (Monday through Thursday and Friday until 5:00 p.m.). $15 (includes skate rental) during peak hours and designated holiday days. Cash and credit cards accepted. (925) 935-SNOW.
Photos courtesy of Walnut Creek on Ice, the Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, and the Walnut Creek Downtown Business Association.