ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – Beginning this fall, Escanaba will be home to a new outdoor ice rink.
For the last few months, Enhance Escanaba has been raising funds to purchase a refrigerated ice rink—something the nonprofit has dreamed of accomplishing for years.
“There are hundreds of people that have memories of ice skating outdoors in the past,” said Enhance Escanaba President Karen Moore. “There’s ice skating opportunities indoors around here, but our weather just hasn’t been conducive to having outdoor rinks in the last few years. The City kind of gave up because it was just not cost-effective.”
On June 30, Enhance Escanaba reached its crowdfunding goal of $75,000. By doing so, the nonprofit secured a matching grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Enhance Escanaba also qualified for additional funds, including $25,000 for making the rink handicap accessible.
The rink will be set up seasonally in Ludington Park and removed when the weather warms up. The rink’s chillers will allow the public to skate from November 1 to the end of March.
“Even when we were skating back in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, you couldn’t skate for five months,” Moore said.
Enhance Escanaba will now work with the City to map out where the rink will be placed, level the ground, and install more lighting. In the future, Moore says the group would like to provide amenities like a warming shack and additional accessibility features. For now, she is just grateful to the community members who made the project possible.
“We are so thankful to all the people that supported us,” said Moore. “It took a while for it to catch on, and then when it did, it was big-time. The last day of our campaign was nerve-wracking but really, really fun, just talking to the people that support us. This is going to be a big deal, and it’s just going to be the start of something big for other activities in the park in the winter.”
For more information on Enhance Escanaba’s plans for the rink, click here. Visit EnhanceEscanaba.org to learn more about the nonprofit.
