THUNDER BAY -- Kasia Anderson is glad to see the waterfront outdoor skating rink open for the season.
Looking for an activity to spend a mild November Saturday, she and her children Haeli and Avyn went down to Prince Arthur’s Landing and saw the ice surface was open for the winter.
It’s one of her favourite places for the family to go skating.
“It has way more of a communal feeling,” she said. “The outdoor rinks have more of that hockey environment, here you don’t have to worry about that. When it’s cold you can relax in the centre and it’s easy to take little kids too.”
This weekend marks the opening for the popular rink, with Saturday being the first full day after the first skaters were allowed on Friday evening.
Rink attendant Kevin Kellett said about a dozen people took to the ice Friday night with more on Saturday as the word spread that it was open.
“It was a fairly successful opening day,” he said. “I’m surprised there aren’t more people down here being that it’s so nice but it seems that they come when it’s colder.”
Preparations to get the rink ready had been ongoing for more than a week, with work starting on Nov. 12. From there flooding began on Monday and went all week to create a smooth ice surface.
The waterfront rink was first opened in Dec. 2011. It is open from the public daily from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m.
The city’s other outdoor rinks are expected to open around Dec. 14, depending on weather conditions.
